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If you thought there was an eventual bottom to the unhinged barbarism of the right's approach to reproductive rights, it might be time to think again.
Fresh on the heels of the Republican party-line response to the 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who had to flee the state for an abortion, leading Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon thinks a 14-year-old incest and rape victim is a "perfect example" of the need for abortion bans.
Dixon made the comments during an appearance on conservative commentator Charlie LeDuff’s talk show The No BS Newshour seen below.
\u201cLeading GOP candidate for Michigan governor Tudor Dixon says a 14-year-old victim of incestual rape should not be eligible for abortion care: \u201cYeah, perfect example\u2026 I know people who are the product. A life is a life for me. That's how it is.\u201d\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
While discussing abortion, LeDuff presented Dixon with the hypothetical case of a 14-year-old girl who becomes pregnant after she is raped by her uncle. He then asked if she would still call for a strict abortion ban even in such a horrifying case.
Dixon interjected:
"Yeah, perfect example."
LeDuff then clarified:
"You're saying carry that [baby]?"
Dixon then replied she would expect the 14-year-old to carry the pregnancy to term and she only supports abortion in the most extreme cases that endanger the life of the pregnant person.
She then claimed to personally know people who were born of rape and incest before resorting to the usual right-wing platitude.
“I know people who are the product—a life is a life for me. That’s how it is."
The Michigan Democratic Party condemned Dixon's remarks, calling her "callous" and "dangerous."
"Tudor Dixon has now gone so far in her radical anti-choice crusade as to say that a child who is the victim of incestual rape is the ‘perfect example’ of why abortion should be banned outright in Michigan."
"Her callous remarks are the perfect example of how dangerous Tudor Dixon would be for Michigan families."
Dixon is running against incumbent Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer on a platform centered on retaining Michigan's extremely restrictive 1931 law banning abortion entirely unless the pregnant person's life is at stake.
The law would have gone back into immediate effect after the US Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade last month had a judge not issued an injunction against the law at Planned Parenthood's request, saying it violates the state's constitution.
Whitmer, who has been open about having survived a rape as a teenager, has filed two lawsuits to keep the 1931 law from being reinstated and has spoken forcefully of her intention to continue fighting for abortion access in her state.
\u201cThanks to the work we\u2019ve done together, abortion remains legal in Michigan. We\u2019re fighting every damn day to keep it that way.\u201d— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@Governor Gretchen Whitmer) 1658171199
Asked by HuffPost to clarify her views on abortion, Dixon doubled down and called Whitmer's stance "not pro-choice [but] anti-Life" because she recently vetoed funding for so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," facilities run by anti-choice religious organizations who seek to coerce pregnant people out of having abortions under the guise of providing counseling.
On Twitter, Dixon's comments left people horrified and outraged.
\u201c@HeartlandSignal A woman under the age of 18 should not be impregnated. \nAnyone who impregnates minors is highly punished in Germany, even if it was, so to speak, "consensual sex".\nAmerica is backwards on this.\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201cTudor Dixon: This is how I feeeel, so Michigan will be forced to comply with my feeelings."\n@TudorDixon is lying when she says most Michiganders are against abortion. \n"The majority of Michiganders are consistently pro-choice." \nhttps://t.co/Al7XZznRgN\n\nhttps://t.co/CloFapmKl8\u201d— Marie30013 (@Marie30013) 1658413987
\u201c@HeartlandSignal Here's what I don't understand. The health of the mother. The health of the mother. How in the hell is deep, life changing trauma and mental health not considered the health of the mother?! This line of thinking is an indictment on our society and our approach as a whole.\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201cMichigan GOP primary candidate for governor Tudor Dixon says the scenario of a 14-year-old girl being raped by her uncle is a \u201cperfect example\u201d of why she wants to ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.\n\nThe GOP has no conscience. Zero.\u201d— Taylor Scofield (@Taylor Scofield) 1658334556
\u201c@HeartlandSignal And did miss Dixon actually ask the "product" as she call them, how did being a "product" effect their lives? How much mental anguish from knowing you were unwanted? Forced birthed? reminded of how you were made?\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201cTudor Dixon isn't alone. If Michigan Republicans get their way, women could be jailed for seeking an abortion. @gretchenwhitmer is trying to stop them.\n\nThe choice in Michigan couldn't be clearer.\u201d— DJ Koessler (@DJ Koessler) 1658338164
\u201cThis is vile. @TudorDixon says a 14 YO who becomes impregnated when raped by her uncle is a \u201cperfect example\u201d of why abortions should be banned. If elected governor, she\u2019d make the child carry that pregnancy to term. Please keep these people out of my state government.\u201d— Dr. Rob Davidson (@Dr. Rob Davidson) 1658365365
Others pointed out how Dixon specifically said "for me" while giving her views but seemed not to understand that she is seeking to impose her views on everyone.
\u201c@HeartlandSignal The key phrase here is "for me," Ms. Dixon. When life begins is a theological question, not a settled scientific fact. If someone else's answer is "it's not a life until it's born," why should they have to live under your theocratic rules, as Afghans do under the Taliban?\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201c@HeartlandSignal She actually said \u201cthat\u2019s how it is FOR ME\u201d\u2026. Which should always be turned around to, \u201cOk that\u2019s how it is for you, fine, why do you need to impose that on everyone else? Because that\u2019s what you\u2019re asking for the privilege to do.\u201d\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201c@HeartlandSignal \u201cThat is for me, that\u2019s my feeling.\u201d Why isn\u2019t the follow up, \u201cso why must every other woman follow your feeling? Why not follow her feelings, that there are lots of reasons that warrant an abortion and if you don\u2019t want one, don\u2019t get one?\u201d\nWhat makes her feelings so important?\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
\u201c@HeartlandSignal "That's my feeling." Well, exactly, dear heart, your feelings should motivate your choices and your choices only. If you are a 14-year-old victim of incestual rape, Tudor Dixon, don't have an abortion.\u201d— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1658331928
Recent polling shows Dixon with a narrow lead among the other Republicans running in the Michigan primary, who both also support the 1931 ban. The primary takes place August 2.