It might have just been Valentine’s Day, but Republicans aren’t feeling the love on the town hall stage tonight. All the GOP candidates on stage oppose a woman’s right to choose, some even in the case of rape or incest. They even want to de-fund a women’s health organization that serves 2.7 million women and men per year, nationwide. They’ve even supported threatening a government shutdown over funding for women’s health. Tonight they proved once again that women’s health care is not a priority.
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump said that Planned Parenthood was “disgusting and absolutely they should be defunded.” [Washington Times, 7/22/15]
- Donald Trump: “I am pro-life.” “Trump characterized himself as ‘pro-life’ and he repeated that apparent reversal when he told the audience at CPAC, ‘I am pro-life’ and pledged to fight for the reversal of Obamacare, which contains abortion funding loopholes.” [LifeNews, 4/8/11]
- Donald Trump suggested that he would support shutting down the federal government in order to defund Planned Parenthood. [New York Times, 8/4/15]
- Donald Trump said that Planned Parenthood was “like an abortion factory.” [CNN, 8/11/15]
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz on contraception: There’s no “rubber shortage in America’…. he told a crowd in Bettendorf, Iowa, during an extended riff on the politics of reproductive health.” [New York Times, 11/30/15]
- Ted Cruz opposed abortion even for victims of rape and incest, and referred to birth control pills as “abortion-inducing drugs.” [PBS, 3/23/15]
- Ted Cruz supported the Life at Conception Act. [Pro Life Alliance, 11/9/12]
- Ted Cruz supported a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks. [Indianapolis Star, 9/17/14]
- Ted Cruz was a cosponsor of the Senate version of legislation designed to defund Planned Parenthood. [LifeNews, 1/8/15; S. 51, 1/7/15]
- Ted Cruz said Planned Parenthood was using “taxpayer funds to murder unborn children” and “profiting from the buying and selling of the body parts of babies.” [Senator Ted Cruz press release, 8/3/15]
- Ted Cruz called Planned Parenthood an “ongoing criminal enterprise.” [Mother Jones, 9/16/15]
- Ted Cruz said he would open an investigation into Planned Parenthood on his first day as president. [CSPAN, 9/29/15]
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio did not support abortion exceptions for cases of rape or incest. [CNN, 8/9/15]
- Marco Rubio: “I have never advocated for” abortion exceptions in cases of rape or incest. [Los Angeles Times, 8/7/15]
- Marco Rubio supported bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks after conception. [Politico, 7/24/13]
- Marco Rubio said it was “settled science” that “human life begins at conception.” [NY Times, 3/15/14]
- Marco Rubio compared abortion to the mass murder at an Oregon community college. [Buzzfeed, 10/8/15]
- Marco Rubio supported forcing victims of rape to carry their attacker’s children to term. [National Review, 11/30/15]
- Marco Rubio voted in favor of a failed measure to defund Planned Parenthood. [Tampa Bay Times, 8/3/15]
- Marco Rubio voted to defund Planned Parenthood. [Salon, 2/27/15; Senate roll call vote 60, 4/14/11]
- Marco Rubio said Planned Parenthood created an “incentive for people…to look forward to having more abortions [and] being able to sell that fetal tissue for purposes of making a profit.” [KCCI, 9/21/15]
- Marco Rubio said that defunding Planned Parenthood was “a human right issue.” [Talking Points Memo, 9/23/15]
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson said he opposed abortion in all cases, including rape and incest. [New York Times, 10/25/15]
- Ben Carson compared abortion to slavery. [Raw Story, 10/25/15]
- Ben Carson likened abortion to “human sacrifice.” [Washington Times, 7/2/14]
- Ben Carson supported legislation that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. [Politico, 8/18/15]
- Ben Carson supported defunding Planned Parenthood. [BenCarson.com, accessed 8/5/15]
- Ben Carson said that Planned Parenthood “not only makes money by selling baby parts, but doesn’t seem to understand the sanctity of human life, and is willing to destroy that.” [CNN, 7/28/15]
- Carson: “Planned Parenthood and their enablers must be stopped from these barbaric practices.” [CNN, 7/15/15]
- Ben Carson claimed Planned Parenthood was “killing babies and taking the tissue.” [The Hill, 8/13/15]
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush: “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
- Jeb Bush: “I’m probably the most pro-life governor in modern times.” [Washington Examiner, 6/26/15]
- Jeb Bush: Planned Parenthood was “not actually doing women’s health issues.” [Politico, 8/25/15]
- Jeb Bush: “The next president should defund Planned Parenthood.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
- Jeb Bush diverted funds from family planning services into abstinence-only education. [St. Petersburg Times, 1/29/03]
- Jeb Bush vetoed funding for family planning services provided to poor women through Planned Parenthood. [St. Petersburg Times, 6/16/01]
- Jeb Bush said the Planned Parenthood videos were “shocking and horrific.” [@JebBush,7/14/15, 8:16 p.m. ET]
John Kasich
- John Kasich signed into law a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. [Huffington Post, 7/21/11]
- John Kasich signed into law a bill that enacted strict abortion restrictions, including mandatory ultrasounds. [Washington Post, 7/1/13]
- John Kasich said he would sign a bill that would ban abortion “if the reason for the procedure is because the child would have Down syndrome.” [CNN, 9/19/15]
- John Kasich: “Fight like crazy to defund Planned Parenthood.” [Newsmax, 9/28/15]
- John Kasich signed legislation essentially cutting off Planned Parenthood from $1.4 million in federal family-planning dollars. [Columbus Dispatch, 7/1/13]