Adding more fuel to the fire of criticism that he lacks true convictions and a solid core of beliefs, presidential presumed Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) was recently quoted in Dubuque, Iowa’s Telegraph Herald as saying, “I oppose abortion, personally. I don’t like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception.”

President George W. Bush has often joked on his campaign stops that his opponent has been in Washington so long that he has taken both sides of every issue.

Sure, he has had a history of taking both sides of several issues. He’s been for and against the Patriot Act, for and against approving the $87 billion to fund the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, for and against NAFTA and so on. He’s even waffled on his views of his new running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). But this latest flip-flop takes the cake.

In the past, Kerry has made comments that are in stark contrast to this latest revelation on his position on abortion.

In his 2003 book, “A Call To Service,” Kerry said, “And if elected president, I will nominate judges who will seek to expand [abortion] rights and opportunities — not reduce them. In this area, anyone who values a woman’s right to choose in particular or constitutional privacy rights in general will have the clearest possible choice between me and President Bush in 2004.”

The Associated Press quotes him as saying, “I’m the only candidate running for president who hasn’t played games, fudged around … If you believe that choice is a constitutional right, and I do, and if you believe that Roe v. Wade is the embodiment of that right … I will not appoint a justice to the Supreme Court of the United States who will undo that right.”

Kerry has also received high marks from pro-abortion groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood, and he has opposed efforts in the Senate to ban partial-birth abortions.

It’s not just the fact that Kerry appears to now have a muddled view on the abortion issue that is the most shocking. It’s rather the fact that apparently after admitting to believing that a fetus is a human life, the Catholic senator still believes that the mom has a “constitutional right” to kill it.

Kerry justified this horrid position by saying, “I can’t take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist … who doesn’t share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America.”

Kerry actually believes, based on his religious beliefs, that a fetus is a human life and “personally” opposes abortion, but, yet, supports allowing people to have the choice of killing what he calls “life” based on the supposed constitutional right to separation of church and state.

If Kerry really believes that life begins at conception, which means that he is willing to stand by while those whom he believes are living human beings are aborted all because he wants to uphold the separation of church and state.

Even those who believe that a fetus is simply a lump of cells and tissue would admit that if perchance they actually believed that a fetus was a human life, they would oppose abortion based on the obvious fact that it would be murder.

But Kerry either is trying to pander to both sides of the abortion issue like he has done on every other issue, hoping to once again be allowed to receive communion from the Catholic Church, or is honestly willing to allow the murder of what he himself calls life. I sincerely hope it’s not the latter.

Kerry better hope that his new trial-lawyer running mate will be able to come up with a good argument to convince the jury of voters that his latest position on abortion isn’t as horrid as it sounds.

Adam Fowler is a senior majoring in political science. oraclefowler@yahoo.com