Much has been made about abortion as a campaign issue, pushed by Democrats and friendly pollsters as well as the mainstream media. In this regard, it's usually a one-sided handling of the issue, with Republicans being portrayed as extreme on the issue. With such a narrative, little attention is spent on how radical, extreme, and out of touch Democratic politicians are when they won't accept any legal limits on abortion, after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the issue back to the states to decide when it overturned Roe v. Wade with its Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June. This even includes Democratic candidates in red states, despite such a pro-abortion position being unpopular.
While the mainstream media is often favorable to Democrats and the pro-abortion position, once in a while they force Democrats to answer for such an extremist position, or at least try to get them to be honest. During Sunday's "State of the Union" on CNN, host Dana Bash asked Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) about what, if any, restrictions he supported on abortion. Ryan is running against JD Vance in November.
Q: "What restrictions, if any, do you believe there should be on abortion?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 28, 2022
OHIO DEMOCRAT TIM RYAN: ......
Q: "So should there be some restrictions?"
RYAN: ......
Q: "It sounds like you're saying no restriction."
RYAN: "Well..." pic.twitter.com/JTac0jk1qA
During the exchange, Ryan parroted the Democratic talking point of those who try to shy away from their position in that "ultimately, this needs to be a decision between the woman and her doctor." Bash aptly pointed out "that means -- it sounds like you're saying no restrictions."
The senatorial candidate nevertheless tried to shy further away from the issue, by then misleading about abortions performed late into pregnancy, another pro-abortion talking point. "Well, I think they're -- no one's supporting abortion towards the end, absolutely. No one's for that. That rarely happens," he claimed, even when his party's position and his own words suggest he is.
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While later abortions may be considered "rare," in that 1 percent of abortions performed in 2019 occurred after 21 weeks, that's still almost 6,300 abortions performed that later in pregnancy, according to the CDC, that we know of. Not all states report their abortion statistics, including California, which is the most populated state and has some of the most relaxed abortions laws in the world.
Further, studies also show that many abortion occurring later in pregnancy happen not so because of "something very tragic is happening in that pregnancy," as Ryan suggested, but due to logistics and/or socioeconomic factors.
Ryan also misled on exceptions for abortion. Every state contains exceptions for saving the life of her mother. "But what we're saying is, are we going to preserve the woman's right to choose at the end to save her own life? I mean, come on. Like, should the government really be in there? That sounds very anti-American," Ryan still claimed, even saying how his opponent is pro-life in instances of rape and incest, has a position "where there's no exceptions at all."
Vance does not have a position of "no exceptions at all," as he believes in exceptions for when the mother's life is at risk.
The Vance campaign responded to Ryan's pro-abortion remarks in a statement to Townhall. "You have to go to communist dictatorships on the other side of the planet to find pro-abortion policies as radical as those held by Tim Ryan. His extreme stance in support of late-term abortion is reflected by law in just two places: China and North Korea. He's too liberal for Ohio," the campaign said.
Ohio was once considered purple, but especially following the hold of former President Donald Trump, it's red. Polls and forecasts also favor Vance over Ryan, with Inside Elections considering the race to be "Solid Republican."
It's not just Ohio, though, where pro-abortion Democrats are making fools of themselves.
Last Thursday, Texas' "trigger law" went into effect, which makes performing or attempting to perform an abortion a felony except for when the life of the mother is at risk. Other similar state laws went into effect as well, to the celebration of pro-lifers and the horror of pro-abortion Democrats.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Beto O'Rourke, who is no stranger to having shamelessly attention-seeking press conferences, spoke to reporters that day from the Houston Women’s Reproductive Services, which used to perform abortions and now can only offer referrals.
DEMOCRAT BETO O’ROURKE says supporting NO LIMITS on abortion is "the best, smartest, most Constitutional and most American and most Texan approach.” pic.twitter.com/NXK7GHZQfb
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 28, 2022
While O'Rourke blasting Republicans for their pro-life policies, including Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), is nothing new, his remarks did contain an especially absurd point as he claimed it's abortion on demand without legal limit is what makes the most sense.
During the event, he was asked by a reporter if, should he become governor he "would allow for any restriction on abortion, including up to partial-birth abortion."
Like most other Democrats, O'Rourke tried to dance around answering the direct question. "I trust women and their doctors to make their decisions about their body, about their healthcare, and about their future," he offered.
Not only did O'Rourke communicate no support for any restriction, including partial-birth abortion, he went on to say that his position is "the best, smartest, um, uh, most constitutional and most American and Texan approach to this issue, and that's the way that I would approach it."
It's a particularly bizarre position to take, as the so-called right to an abortion was interpreted by the Supreme Court in 1973 with Roe v. Wade, based on a penumbra or "feeling" of what the Fourteenth Amendment says.
Further, when it comes to backwards constitutional positions, O’Rourke has consistently stood against the Second Amendment. Earlier this month he claimed at an event that the right to bear arms, which is explicitly in the Constitution, is not absolute. "Is the Second Amendment absolute, or are there some restrictions on it? Is any constitutional right absolute, or are there some restrictions," he asked.
The race currently and always has favored Abbott over O'Rourke. In addition to losing his Senate run in 2018 and his presidential run in 2020, it looks like he will likely be able to add his gubernatorial run to his losing streak.
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