- An off-the-cuff comment about reproductive rights by Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s tight Senate race has put abortion at the center of debate in the most expensive Senate campaign this year.
- “Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it,’” Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Sept. 20. ”‘If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’ OK. It’s a little crazy, by the way, but — especially for women who are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”
- A woman featured in one TV ad wondered why, if a 50-year-old woman doesn’t have standing to feel strongly about abortion, a 57-year-old man — that’s Moreno’s age — running for Senate would.
- Even fellow Republican Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate, criticized Moreno as #ToneDeaf. “Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend,” she quipped on X.
- Throughout the race, Brown has said he voted for and would honor an amendment that Ohioans supported by wide margins last year that enshrined into the state constitution people’s right to make their own reproductive choices.
- “The people of Ohio think women should have the power to make their own health care decisions, Bernie Moreno thinks he should,” Brown said in a statement. “As a man over the age of 50, I care deeply about a woman’s right to make health care decisions for herself -– for my daughters, my granddaughters, and all Ohio women, regardless of their age.”
Ohio Capital Journal: An issue for them? Ohio’s 50+ women emboldened by Moreno comments on abortion
Susan Tebben – October 14, 2024
- “I am not a single issue voter, by any means,” said Mansfield resident and registered Republican Linda Smith.
- But abortion rights has come to the forefront, and in fact has galvanized older women voters in the weeks leading up to the November general election.
- U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno made comments about abortion rights and the interests of suburban women, which have since been used in campaign ads against him.
- Those comments have also renewed conversations about the topic with women who may not be experiencing pregnancy or the need for an abortion, but who remember times when reproductive health care was more risky, and are looking to the future for their daughters and granddaughters.
- “Women don’t make their health care choices and decisions lightly and they’re often complicated decisions.” Smith said. “They’re life-altering.”
- After Moreno’s comments, an open letter was released by Republican, independent and Democratic-voting women, saying Moreno “mocked many of us who are over the age of fifty” and criticizing him for trying to “play your comments off as a joke” after the fact.
- “As Ohio women across the political spectrum, we don’t agree on everything,” the letter stated. “But there are some things bigger than party politics. What unites us is the firm belief that Ohio women should have the ability to make their own health care choices, free from the involvement of people like you.”
- More than just reproductive rights as an issue for older women, Smith said her decisions in the upcoming election are informed by elected officials who “frequently disregard the will of the people,” including legislative attempts and comments that seek to undermine the reproductive rights amendment passed by a majority of state voters last year.
- “You can disagree, but when 57% of the electorate votes for that, you need to respect that,” Smith said.
