Porn king Larry Flynt added fodder to the fire with allegations that President George Bush funded an abortion for a girlfriend in the 1970s, a particularly stinging allegation given that President Bush is one of the staunchest opponents of a woman's right to choose to ever take public office.
The accusations waged by Flynt, a lifelong Democrat and political radical, come on the heels of a media frenzy over rumors that Senator John Kerry had a secret dalliance with an intern several years ago, an allegation that quickly faded when the young woman stepped forward and denied the affair, claiming that she had only known Kerry as a job reference.
Flynt claims to have researched the abortion rumor about President Bush thoroughly and is confident in its validity. So confident, in fact, that he is planning to publish the story in an upcoming book.
The book is slated for release sometime this summer, the Flynt camp told XBiz.
"I got the story nailed," Flynt was quoted as saying. "I've talked to the woman's friends, I've tracked down the doctor who did the abortion, I tracked down the Bush people who arranged for the abortion."
According to The Courier-Mail, the abortion allegation starting trickling into the mainstream media after pop electronic musician Moby encouraged political activists to start hunting around for dirt on President Bush, similar to current smur campaigns centered on the Democratic candidates.
But the abortion allegation is more than just Democratic mud slinging, critics say. President Bush is known for taking a hard stand on abortion issues, and if he is successful, a new Republican-backed bill would upseat the protections so far provided by Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing a woman's right to choose.
Knowledge that the President ever funded or approved an abortion could severly damage his credibility, critics say.
The law the President is proposing would eliminate the right to choose entirely and it would criminalize abortion. It would mean that a doctor could go to jail for putting a patient's health first, even if a woman's future fertility is at risk.
Larry Flynt could not be reached for comment at the time of this printing.
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