Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that he is comfortable to lose the votes of pro-life conservatives who oppose his call for public funding of abortion.

“If that’s the most important thing, then I’m comfortable with the fact you won’t vote for me,” the former New York mayor said at a news conference in South Carolina.

The remark came one day after Giuliani sparked outrage among pro-lifers by reaffirming his support for taxpayer-funded abortions. In a TV interview on Wednesday, Giuliani stood by his 1989 call for such funding.

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“There must be public funding for abortions for poor women,” he said in an 18-year-old video clip that has been resurrected on the YouTube video–sharing Web site. “We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources.”

Giuliani said Wednesday that he would carry that conviction with him into the White House.

“That’s my view,” he said, even as he noted his personal distaste for abortion.

“Abortion is wrong,” he said. “Abortion shouldn’t happen. But, ultimately, it’s a constitutional right.”

“So you support taxpayer money or public funding for abortion in some cases?” a reporter asked.

“If it would deprive someone of a constitutional right, yes,” the candidate replied. “If that’s the status of the law, then I would. Yes.”

At Thursday’s news conference, Giuliani was unapologetic about alienating pro-lifers with his pro-choice views.

“I tell people what I think,” he said. “I tell them [to] evaluate me as I am and do not expect them to agree with me on everything. I don’t agree with me on everything.”

American Life League President Judie Brown called on U.S. bishops and priests to rebuke Giuliani, who is Catholic, for his pro-choice statements.

“His position is an insult to the Catholic Church in which he claims membership,” Brown said.

bsammon@dcexaminer.com