“All I’m saying is, if you believe that life begins at conception, that, therefore, doesn’t change the definition of life. That’s a principle. The policy of a Romney administration is to oppose abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. … We don’t think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people through their elected representatives in reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process should make this determination.”
-Rep. Paul Ryan
Why it stinks: A couple things stink about Ryan’s answer about abortion in the vice presidential debate. First, he makes it clear that his personal position is that life begins at conception. That is the radical “personhood” position–the one Mississippi voters rejected last fall and the idea behind federal legislation that Ryan co-sponsored that not only would outlaw abortion (including in cases of incest, rape and when the mother was dying) but would also ban the pill and in vitro fertilization.
But Ryan also provided political cover for Mitt Romney’s muddled position of being against abortion with incest/rape/life-of-mother exceptions. If you read Ryan’s words closely, you see that “we” are against “unelected judges” making the decision: that means the U.S. Supreme Court. Romney is bizarrely inconsistent in his public flip-flops on abortion, but he has made two things clear: He wants to (a) elected officials (b) to overturn Roe v. Wade and send the decision back to the states.
That means that states such as Mississippi, with its pro-personhood governor, will work to outlaw abortion in all instances, as well as various forms of birth control and in vitro fertilization, as he did last year. Thus, Ryan was honest about what he and Romney plan to do, and it means giving the states the right to decide on abortion exceptions and birth control. And that stinks for women.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.