Democratic candidates running in key midterm races have refused to outline any restrictions on abortion that they would support, a position held by a small minority of Americans.
In debates with Republican opponents, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly expressed support for legal abortion up to the moment of birth. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams have also taken the same position, which is shared by only ten percent of Americans, according to a recent Harvard CAPS Harris Poll.
Democrats over-performed in several special elections held in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs position, leading party leaders to believe support for expansive legalized abortion is a winning message. Candidates have blasted their Republican opponents as extreme while arguing that limiting abortion will cause women to die. (RELATED: ‘It Sounds Like You’re Saying No Restrictions’: CNN’s Dana Bash Presses Top Dem Senate Candidate On Abortion)
“I had some very personal conversations with women in Ohio who had gone through tragedies, who needed to have abortions for different reasons. And I just came to realize through the course of these conversations that the government has no place in this matter,” Ryan, who is running against JD Vance to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman, said Monday.
Ryan and Slotkin voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act in 2021 and 2022. The legislation would legalize abortion up to the moment of birth and eliminate conscience protections for doctors and nurses who oppose the procedure. Kelly voted to open debate on the legislation in May, but Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and all 50 Senate Republicans blocked it.
“The conversation in the fall is, do you believe in the Roe v. Wade standard, or do you believe in the 1931 ban on abortion?” Slotkin asked during a Sept. 25 debate with GOP candidate Tom Barrett. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if Roe hadn’t been overturned. We had 50 years of law. It wasn’t really a topic.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to his Republican Senate opponent Blake Masters:
“You think you know better than women and doctors about abortion. You even think you know better than seniors about Social Security. And you think you know better than veterans about how to win a war.” pic.twitter.com/6nXhTROkiW
— The Recount (@therecount) October 7, 2022
Similarly, the self-styled moderate Kelly refused to name any abortion restrictions he supports in a debate with Masters. Instead, Kelly claimed to support the Roe standard, which allowed abortion up to the moment of birth to protect the physical or mental health of the mother. (RELATED: ‘Step In And Protect Life’: Blake Masters Says Rolling Back Roe V. Wade Isn’t Good Enough)
“I think we all know guys like this. Guys that think they know better than everyone about everything. You think you know better than women and doctors about abortion,” he said.
Fetterman, who is running to replace retiring Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, held a “Women for Fetterman” event on Sept. 11 in which he highlighted his support for abortion access. His general election opponent, Mehmet Oz, describes himself as “pro-life” but opposes “criminal penalties for doctors or women regarding abortion.”
BLUE BELL, PA – SEPTEMBER 11: Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman holds a rally with U.S. Congresswomen Madeleine Dean and Mary Gay Scanlon on September 11, 2022 in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In the November general election, Fetterman faces U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
“This decision: should [it] be made up to Dr. Oz? Or to a woman and a real doctor, to choose?” Fetterman asked at the rally. “Oz believes abortion is murder… No exceptions: rape or incest… If every abortion is a murder, that means Dr. Oz considers every woman who had to choose abortion is a killer.”
Gubernatorial candidates Abrams and Whitmer have suggested that they would support legalized abortion up to the moment of birth. Abrams claimed in a September town hall that fetal heartbeats are “biologically a lie” and a “manufactured sound.” Twitter amplified the claim and suggested its veracity, despite widespread agreement from doctors that fetal heartbeats can be detected starting at six weeks of the mother’s pregnancy.
Whitmer is highlighting her opposition to a 1931 Michigan law making abortion a felony, promising to repeal it if she wins reelection. She has also urged the Michigan Supreme Court to rule abortion a constitutional right in the state.
