New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took former Republican Vice President Mike Pence to task after he bragged Republicans will have "Pro-Life majorities in the House and the Senate" following next month's midterm elections.
Pence's remarks came after Democratic President Joe Biden in a speech vowed to codify Roe v. Wade—the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive health care without excessive government restriction—into law should Democrats win the midterms.
In response, Pence declared the GOP would oppose Biden by "taking the cause of the right to Life to every state house in America."
You can see his tweet below.
Shortly afterward, Ocasio-Cortez responded to Pence with a short and sweet declaration of her own:
"And I’ve got news for you: Absolutely no one wants to hear what your plan is for their uterus."
Pence's statement marked the boldest appeal to limit reproductive rights yet, though his declaration is not without caveats.
Republicans have faced significant pushback in the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, with one prominent GOP candidate—venture capitalist Blake Masters, the nominee in this year's Senate race in Arizona—making headlines after he was caught altering his campaign website to soften his position on abortion.
Nowhere was this pushback more apparent in recent weeks than when Kansas voters secured a win for reproductive rights activists after voting to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, the result of an effort to ensure the state—typically Republican and conservative—remains a safe haven for abortion in the Midwest.
The GOP has doubled down since.
Last month, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that would institute a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Graham had previously said reproductive rights should be left up to state legislatures to decide.
His decision to introduce the bill—effectively taking the decision away from the states—offers a preview of how Republicans will act in the event they retake control of Congress.
Many praised Ocasio-Cortez for shutting Pence down and joined her in criticizing him.
In recent weeks, Republicans have continued to drum up support among their Evangelical Christian base, capitalizing on their belief the Democratic Party is the enemy of the unborn. Democrats have continued to focus on safeguarding reproductive freedom during midterm campaigns, warning of an unprecedented rollback should Republicans gain power.
While Democrats have largely been buoyed by their supporters' righteous anger in the months since the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned long-established precedent on reproductive rights, Republicans are hoping they might have peaked too early and voters will be more likely to consider their rhetoric about the economy and inflation at the voting booth.
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