ICYMI: Six unbelievable things that Republicans have actually said about reproductive rights [Courier Newsroom]

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Courier Newsroom: Six unbelievable things that Republicans have actually said about reproductive rights
By Lucy Ritzmann
May 6, 2024

Key points: 

• The war on reproductive rights has continued to carve a devastating path in Americans’ lives since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. 

• And so we find ourselves asking the same questions we’ve been asking for almost two years now: how can the GOP be this cruel? 

• Below are several incredibly glib or unfeeling comments that GOP candidates have actually said about abortion this year. 

• They have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. While that usually would be embarrassing and a little funny, in this case, people are literally dying because of it.

• Now, onto the comments: 

• Rick Scott (FL): Abortion is “a tough issue for women” but adoption is a ‘better option’

• Scott set the bar high when it comes to drastically understating the issue of abortion and clearly not knowing – or not caring – about the devastating impact that anti-abortion laws have on women. 

• In an interview with The Hill in January, he seems to have attempted empathy by stating that he understands that abortion is “a tough issue for women” but followed that up by stating that adoption is a “better option” that women should pursue instead.

• Kari Lake (AZ): Arizonans can just “go three hours” to another state to get an abortion

• In response to – and in defense of – the Arizona Supreme Court’s April decision to reinstate a near-total abortion ban that dates back to 1864, Kari Lake attempted to downplay this blow by stating that women could just “go three hours that way, three hours that way, and you’re going to be able to have an abortion.”

• Bernie Moreno (OH): Women need help with strollers, not abortion

• Moreno was asked about his stance on reproductive rights in February of this year. He shunned any direct answer and instead an anecdote about his daughter struggling with her child’s stroller. He then offered that helping women carrying strollers are “the kinds of things that we can do.” 

• There was no further context given as to why women do deserve assistance and care when it comes to strollers, but not in an instance of rape, incest, or an emergency medical situation.

• Larry Hogan (MD): Abortion is an “emotional issue for women.”

• Hogan has a long history of opposing abortion: most recently, in 2022, he vetoed legislation that would have expanded abortion rights in Maryland. He has also followed in MAGA footsteps of arguing it should be left up to the states to decide. 

• In the first TV interview of his campaign, Hogan also followed the extremist trend of lacking any real care for this issue, and when asked about abortion, he simply commented that he understood abortion to be “an emotional issue for women.”

• Ted Cruz (TX): “Just call our press office”

• Cruz, who is staunchly anti-abortion and celebrated the Dobbs decision, made headlines this past winter when he refused to discuss the case of Kate Cox, a Texan mother of two with a fatal fetal diagnosis who was forced to leave the state to receive an abortion. Instead of offering thoughts or acknowledgment or even a shred of apology, Cruz told reporters to call his press office – which they then did several times and received no answer.

• So for those keeping track of the Cruz-Allred match-up, here’s the bottom line: Cruz is totally cool with bodily autonomy if the issue is something like cigarettes. But if you want to save your own life? Forget about it.

See also: HuffPost: GOP Senate Recruits Back The Same Extreme Abortion Positions That Cost The Party In 2022; and GOPonAbortion.com.

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