Brian Kemp Refused to Discuss Abortion in Debate With Stacey Abrams
For months now, Republicans on the campaign trail have attempted to distance themselves from their party’s disastrous state-level abortion bans. On Sunday night Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R)—who literally signed Georgia’s current, near-total abortion ban into law—continued the trend when asked whether he would sign further abortion restrictions into law, during a debate with the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams. With the midterms just a week away, it was the second and last time the two went head-to-head on the debate stage.
“I’m not gonna say yes or no to any specific piece of legislation without seeing exactly what it’s doing. It’s not my desire to go move the needle any further on this issue,” Kemp told the moderators. He emphasized that Georgia is “a state that values life,” and added, “I personally don’t see a need to go back, but when you’re governor, you have to deal with all kinds of legislative issues that are out there”—another non-answer. His ambiguous responses on Sunday are, if anything, a disturbing step backward: Earlier this month, at their first debate, Kemp said “it’s not my desire to” enact further abortion restrictions.
Given Kemp’s history of attacking reproductive rights, it’s laughable that he’s now attempting to distance himself from the same abortion legislation that he worked to pass. Georgia’s abortion ban, first signed into law by Kemp in 2019 but blocked from taking effect until Roe fell in June, is the first in the nation to formally establish fetal personhood, conferring legal rights upon literal embryos that supersede the rights of pregnant people. He’s even been caught on a hot mic advocating for restrictions on IVF treatments and banning plan B.
Link to tweet
Of course, Kemp’s cowardly refusal to publicly speak on abortion at Sunday’s debate isn’t surprising—all polling indicates just how unpopular abortion bans are among voters, and Republican candidates are clearly stressed. Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters literally deleted the page supporting abortion bans from his campaign website in August. Days later, Tom Barrett, a Republican Congressional nominee in Michigan, also scrubbed his website of any mention of abortion. In September, another Republican candidate refused to give any yes or no answers when asked whether he supported abortion bans, ultimately concluding, “I would say yes, abortion policy.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brian-kemp-refused-discuss-abortion-215000412.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
The two things aren't mutually exclusive. It's the Repukes who say it's either-or, it can't be both. But I know a lot of Democrats (myself included) who believe that abortion might be morally wrong, but it's not up to the state or federal government to deny the freedom of choice from any woman and her doctor. Under most circumstances, abortion is the remedy of the last-resort.
But Jim Banks (like the other Repukes) thinks that the entire state has to be anti-choice, because he's anti-choice. He's exercising his own freedom of choice to deny choice to every woman in Indiana.
We have lots of them here in Pennsylvania too. Remember Rick Santorum?
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.