Should there ever be a restriction on when an abortion can be performed? Democratic Senate Candidate Tim Ryan of Ohio simply can’t say.
A very awkward exchange between Ryan and CNN anchor Dana Bash about whether there should ever be restrictions on abortion. Keep in mind Ryan is a so-called “moderate” in the House and is taking his “moderate” charm to the Ohio Senate race against Republican J.D. Vance.
This then begs the question of asking what’s so “moderate” about basically supporting unrestricted abortion up until moments before birth.
Ryan refuses to clarify that and instead dishes out a word salad of unspecific talking points to avoid actually saying he supports some restrictions on abortion:
Q: "What restrictions, if any, do you believe there should be on abortion?"
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
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 28, 2022
That’s hard to watch, I’m embarrassed for him.
Rarely do Democrats ever get questioned vigorously to defend their abortion position or asked to actually define when there should ever be limits on the practice.
Ryan is in the same spot many Democrats are in this cycle. Personally, he may be opposed to late-term abortion but he can’t say that so he’s sugar-coating it by dressing up his beliefs in some story about a tragedy that occurs late in pregnancy.
Alright, fine, but as Bash reiterates, it’s your job as the legislator to craft the law. Where do we draw the line on abortion? Ryan can’t say.
Ryan claims “no one” supports abortion later in pregnancy but that’s absolutely not true.
His own party, led by Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer championed a law allowing that very scenario with no questions asked. It’s called the Women’s Health Protection Act and was introduced following the leaked Roe v. Wade opinion. The gist of the law was to remove any and all limitations and allow abortion up to the ninth month of pregnancy.
Bash should’ve pressed Ryan on this specific legislation more bluntly since he would be potentially voting on it as a member of the U.S. Senate if he wins in November.
Ryan can’t commit of course because his donors support unfettered abortion at any time with no restrictions. He doesn’t want to upset anyone, like Planned Parenthood, so he dances around leaving it up to the “woman and her doctor” which is the safe answer for a Democrat unwilling to stand for anything.
In Ryan’s world, what if the baby survives the abortion, is that scenario still open to interpretation between the woman and her doctor or do we start to apply some humanity to the living, breathing child?
The “reasonable” Democratic Party position used to be keeping abortion “safe, legal, and rare,” as per the language of former president Bill Clinton. Ryan is clearly of that persuasion but that particular position on the spectrum is so far out of step with “mainstream” progressivism today it’s not a position he’s allowed to have.
