Tim Ryan was once pro-life.
Now he’s an extremist in defense of abortion
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) used to be a pro-lifer, but now his party has dragged him to the extremes.
Ryan's new position is that he wants to enshrine a national right to late-term abortions, even on babies who could survive perfectly fine outside of the womb. That’s the central provision of the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which Ryan voted for this year and has proudly endorsed.
The WHPA would also preempt many state abortion regulations — for example, 24-hour waiting periods, informed consent, and health-and-safety minimum standards for abortion providers.
Ryan also supports taxpayer-funded abortion. He proudly endorsed the “Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act,” which would have Medicare, Medicaid, federal employee health plans, and all federally funded health insurance programs pay for abortions.
Ryan gets 100% scores every year recently from NARAL and Planned Parenthood, two organizations that oppose any restrictions on abortion. To earn that perfect score, Ryan had to support federal subsidies for Planned Parenthood and vote to strip out conscience protections for doctors or nurses who do not wish to abort babies or assist in their abortion.
These are extremist positions that Ryan holds on abortion.
In the latest poll, nearly two-thirds believed that abortion should be illegal after 15 weeks, with a majority believing abortion should be illegal after the first trimester. A 15-week ban on abortion is precisely what is before the Supreme Court right now. Ryan stands not merely with the minority (35%) who believe abortion should be legal through two trimesters, but by calling to codify Roe v. Wade, Ryan stands with the small minority (23%) that believes abortion should never be forbidden.
Ryan didn’t merely go from pro-life to pro-choice. He went from pro-life to being a radical defender of abortion on demand. This is what it means to be a Democrat in the 2020s.