abortion

After coming forward to the Oregonian with more concrete details of her intimate relationship with Erickson, Tawnya is now being sought out by Democratics for a potential television ad attacking Erickson for his hypocrisy when it come to the hot topic of abortion.

If Mike Erickson thought the allegations of abortion that his opponent brought up in the primary were behind him, The Oregonian's Monday cover story will be a shock.

It is an in-depth interview with Tawnya, the woman who claims she had a relationship with Erickson (R-Lake Oswego) in 2001. Tawnya gives her version of the events that she says led to her pregnancy and later an abortion paid for by Erickson. Oregonian reporters Janie Har and Steve Mayes corroborated her story with a paper trail and two of Tawnya's friends during that time. The reporters flatly determined, "Their story conflicts directly with Erickson's version."

So, wealthy businessman Mike Erickson finally spoke to an Oregonian reporter about allegations he impregnated his ex-girlfriend and then paid for her abortion back in 2000.

Amidst the mud-slinging hoopla that has devoured the 5th CD GOP primary, one thing is clear. Mike Erickson's $1 million dollar personal slush fund is not going to lose to Kevin Mannix's meager $190,000 campaign kitty when The Oregonian only runs an amorous story involving sex, abortion and Jimmy Mak's on page two of their Metro section.

The Portland Tribune talked to a 33-year-old woman from Clackamas County who says GOP congressional candidate Mike Erickson "got her pregnant in 2000 and then paid for her to have an abortion." The newspaper agreed to withhold the woman's name.

"We became pregnant, and not only did he pick me up and drove me to the abortion clinic, he completely encouraged me to do that," the woman told the Portland Tribune. "On the way to the clinic, "he withdrew $300 from his bank account" at an ATM to pay for the procedure, she said.

And click here to view a bonus cartoon on McCain's $33,100 "Victory Dinner".

Rumors of drugs, sex and an abortion: the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District got ugly eight days before the primary.

Today Kevin Mannix went public with accusations that his opponent Mike Erickson impregnated a young woman and then paid for her abortion. The campaign based the accusations on an e-mail from a friend of the young woman in question that details a list of offenses by Erickson.

"I was surprised to see that the Mike Erickson, who in 2000 was having wild parties involving cocaine use on his house boat, was running for office," the e-mail states.

The author said she was driven to speak out by campaign literature that discussed Erickson's pro-life stance. According to the Mannix campaign, the woman wrote "where were these ideals in the year 2000 when he drove my friend (whom he impregnated) to an abortion clinic in NE Portland, handed her some cash, and left her at the door."

Kevin Mannix letter on Mike Erickson