A practicing Roman Catholic, Schilling believes life begins at conception and is staunchly against abortion rights. He is a supporter of the late-term abortion ban and parental notification laws.

He supports adult stem-cell research to produce cures and therapies for a variety of diseases, but opposes embryonic stem=-cell research on the basis that it "takes life" and is "wrong no matter how good the intentions."

Fiscal Conservative

Schilling is a fiscal conservative who supports reducing federal spending, balancing the budget, paying down U.S. debt and lowering the corporate tax rate. He opposed President Obama's 2009 stimulus plan and would postpone the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for at least two years because "[t]his is the worst possible time to raise taxes."

He also has pledged, upon election, to reject the five-year congressional pension, donate any salary increase, not accept congressional health-care benefits, limit himself to eight years in office and not vote for any legislation which he hasn't read.

"I'm not going in to make a career out of this," he said in February 2010.

Health Care and Social Security

Schilling is opposed to the Obama's 2010 health-care reform law, believing that it "focuses on government control of the health-care system, which will destroy the greatest system of care in the world by allowing bureaucrats to control it and driving doctors and nurses out of it."

He is nevertheless committed to lower costs and expand coverage within the health-care system by addressing tort reform, reducing waste and fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and opening up competition in the insurance market. He believes in encouraging all individuals to take "responsibility for their health and for a portion of their expenses."

He is opposed to privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age.

National Security

Schilling favors President Obama's decision to implement a troop surge in Afghanistan, but is opposed to the president's "arbitrary timeline for withdrawal."

Education

Schilling is mostly in favor of the Obama administration's education efforts, especially supporting vouchers, an emphasis on teacher accountability and the Race to the Top fund.

However, he believes the federal government should cede more power over education to states, giving them the authority to opt out of No Child Left Behind and direct funds to pressing local needs.

Immigration

Schilling believes in securing U.S. borders, in partnership with neighboring nations, and not rewarding people who enter the country illegally. He thinks immigrants who have entered illegally should be given the opportunity to return to their country of origin, with the option of applying for legal entry into the U.S.

Energy

Schilling has said that the U.S. "cannot afford to curtail offshore drilling."

In light of the spring 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he supports stricter safeguards for drilling to require companies drilling offshore to certify, for instance, that their blowout preventers are in full working order. Once drilling standards are strengthened, he supports exploring for oil in Brazil and searching domestically for natural gas.

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