Republican J.D. Vance buried Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan Monday night during the Ohio U.S. Senate debate, successfully highlighting the Democrat’s radical stances on both abortion and immigration in one fell swoop.
Asked by a debate moderator what limits, if any, he supports regarding abortion, Ryan responded that he wanted to codify Roe v. Wade.
“That was established law for 50 years, and we didn’t have all the chaos that we’re having now,” the congressman said. “We’ve got to have some moderation on this issue.”
Well, that’s a trick response, because Roe did not establish any set time limit during the pregnancy after which abortions would be illegal.
The majority in Roe said after the age of viability of the baby outside the womb — the court referenced 24 weeks (six months) — a state “may, if it chooses, regulate or even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”
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Vance pointed to his opponent’s vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which goes well beyond Roe to start making the case that Ryan is an extremist on the issue.
“He says that he wants to codify Roe. He voted for a piece of legislation that would have overturned Roe and required abortion on demand at 40 weeks for fully elective reasons,” Vance said.
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Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler noted that the Women’s Health Protection Act language allows abortions up to the time of birth when the “health” of the mother is at issue.
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Critics say that is an exception, based on court precedent, that you can drive a Mack truck through, with factors like emotional, psychological or familial health cited as the reason for the late-term abortion.
Vance noted that Ryan also voted against legislation in 2018 requiring medical care to be given to babies that survive abortions.
Asked specifically if he would support GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill creating a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks (four months into the pregnancy), Vance suggested he would.
“Some minimum national standard is totally fine with me,” the Republican said, noting that unborn babies by five months are fully formed and can feel pain.
“No civilized country in the world allows elective abortion that late in pregnancy. I don’t think the United States should be an exception,” Vance said.
Asked about his flip from being pro-life earlier in his congressional career, Ryan responded that after talking with women constituents he had come to believe that “the government has no place in these matters.”
“This needs to be left to the woman. It needs to be left to the doctor to make these decisions,” he added.
That is clearly beyond the Roe language quoted above where the court said the government does have an interest in these matters, at least when a baby can survive outside the womb, the justices said.
As a side note, a very strange inconsistency in the law is that someone who attacks a pregnant woman and kills her unborn child — regardless of the point in the pregnancy in many states — can be charged with murder.
The woman could have been planning to have an abortion the next day, and it would not matter, because that unborn child is protected by the law.
Vance’s coup de grâce on the issue of abortion against Ryan came near the end of the exchange.
A debate moderator brought up the topic of exceptions, citing the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped, and her family took her to neighboring Indiana to get an abortion because the 6-week limit had passed in her home state.
“I’ve always believed in reasonable exceptions. This is a misrepresentation of my view, but let’s hear it from me not from Congressman Ryan,” Vance answered.
“Look, I’ve got a 9-year-old baby girl at home,” he continued. “I cannot imagine what that’s like for the girl, for her family. God forbid something like that would happen. I’ve said repeatedly on the record that I think that that girl should be able to get an abortion if she and her family so choose to do so.”
This is the exact moment where JD Vance won the Ohio Senate seat.
It’s over. And it only took 30 seconds.
You will never see a more 🔥 response, then brutal reversal in politics. pic.twitter.com/nIqmvDl2Qh— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 11, 2022
“But let’s talk about that case because why was a 10-year-old girl raped in our community, raped in our state, in the first place? The thing the media and Congressman Ryan — they talk about this all the time — the thing they never mention is that poor girl was raped by an illegal alien,” Vance said.
The 27-year-old alleged rapist, Gerson Fuentes, is in the U.S. illegally from Guatemala, Fox News reported.
“That poor girl was raped by an illegal alien, somebody who should’ve never been in this state in the first place,” Vance said.
The Republican then pinned the issue right on Ryan.
“You voted so many times against border wall funding, so many times for amnesty, Tim,” Vance said.
“If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place. Do your job on border security, don’t lecture me about opinions I don’t actually have,” the candidate concluded.
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson tweeted, “This is the exact moment where JD Vance won the Ohio Senate seat. It’s over. And it only took 30 seconds.”
Jack Posobiec tweeted in response, “JD didn’t just win the debate, he just ended this man’s entire career.”
Mike Cernovich observed, “Tim Ryan was very shook at the end. Really was jarred and had no response. This type of debate style by JD Vance is the new standard.”
Oh man. Tim Ryan was very shook at the end. Really was jarred and had no response. This type of debate style by JD Vance is the new standard. Hold Democrats accountable. They are the ones doing evil. No more apology tours. Put them on the hot seat.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) October 11, 2022
Agreed. Vance pulled off a great reversal, first highlighting Ryan’s radical stand on abortion and slamming him on his disastrous border policies with a real-world example from Ohio.
That’s the way it’s done!
