Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists protest during the 50th annual March for Life rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20, 2023, in Washington, DC. Anti-abortion activists attended the annual march to mark the first to occur in a “post-Roe nation” since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health ruling which overturned 50 years of federal protections for abortion healthcare. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Two Democrats in the highest profile elections in the state are accusing their Republican opponents of being disingenuous by calling themselves pro-choice.
In the two races — one for U.S. Senate and one for the 7th District House seat — Democrats and abortion rights activists say the Republican candidates’ stated support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned the federal right to an abortion, is incompatible with being pro-choice.
“Actions speak louder than words. Politicians who claim to be ‘pro-choice,’ yet agree with a Supreme Court decision that stripped the right to make personal medical decisions from millions of Americans, can’t have it both ways,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.
She said Curtis Bashaw, Republican candidate for Senate, and GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who is seeking reelection in the 7th District, are two of many Republican candidates across the country attempting to “fudge their viewpoints and records” to win over voters. Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey has endorsed Bashaw’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Andy Kim (D-03), and Kean’s, Sue Altman.
Bashaw and Kim have met for two debates and both times Bashaw has stressed that he is pro-choice, to criticism from Kim.
But Bashaw also said during an October 6 debate hosted by the New Jersey Globe that he agreed with the Dobbs decision that a woman’s right to choose an abortion is not enshrined in the Constitution. That ruling allowed states to enact restrictions or outright bans on the procedure.
“I understand what the court did in the Dobbs decision — they believe in the separation of powers, so they sent it back to the states and it should go back to the U.S. Congress and get codified,” he said. “I will work on that and I will support that. The words are simple: I am pro-choice.”
Kim responded, “It’s just one of those things, Mr. Bashaw, that I just fundamentally have a problem with you using the term pro-choice to describe yourself when you have talked about the importance of the Dobbs decision being correctly decided.”
When the two met again Tuesday for a discussion moderated by NJ Spotlight News, the candidates were asked if they support sales of mifepristone, more commonly known as the abortion pill. Bashaw reiterated his stance that the government shouldn’t tell people what medicine they can or can’t take, and that the drug should be available to Americans.
“But the problem is that when the Dobbs decision happened,” Kim said, “now women are not able to get this type of medication in so many states.”
In the 7th District race, Kean and Altman participated in a debate hosted by the New Jersey Globe on Sunday, when Kean was asked if he thinks the Dobbs decision was correct.
“I think it’s appropriate to send this decision down to the states so people can go to local leaders and be involved in this regard. I am pro-choice. I have a 21-year record of supporting pro-choice positions and I would oppose a national abortion ban,” he said.
Altman refuted that, noting that he voted against funding Planned Parenthood and codifying abortion rights as a state lawmaker.
“You will not sign onto a bill protecting and enshrining IVF into law. You voted against women in the military leaving their bases to get abortions,” she said. “And you know you’re trying to hold two things in your mind at once because you have a secret website, or you used to, that showed ‘pro-life,’ and now you come on here and you say you’re pro-choice.”
Gothamist reported in 2022 that Kean’s campaign website had a “hard-to-find, seemingly hidden-away page” describing his more conservative positions on some issues, including abortion.
Republicans who say they’re pro-choice anger not only Democrats. Conservative Steve Lonegan, who publishes online outlet Jersey Conversative, said Monday that Bashaw’s positions make him the “most radical pro-abortion” Republican candidate in New Jersey’s history.
“We will not allow honest conservative voters to be fooled by candidates who hire language pimp political consultants who lie in the primary and reveal their true positions later. We are going to vet the hell out of people going forward,” he said.
He later applauded Bashaw for clarifying some statements with NJ Spotlight News on Tuesday.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.