During a debate last night, Barbara Boxer went after Carly Fiorina on abortion.
Fiorina is pro-life. And Boxer is all about “choice.”
Boxer also used, as the title of this post reflects, the tired women-would-be-jailed scare tactic (read this for a good de-bunking).
As a spokesman for Fiorina told me recently: “Carly thinks we can and should curtail the tragic practice of abortion, not punish women — a mainstream position — whereas Barbara Boxer has voted five times against a ban on partial-birth abortion, supports taxpayer funding of abortion, and thinks a baby only acquires rights when it arrives home from the hospital.”
Marjorie Dannefelser of the Susan B. Anthony List responded last night: “Barbara Boxer’s attacks are an overused, inflammatory talking point that doesn’t convey an honest approach to the conversation. Carly Fiorina’s politics, as it relates to women, embody women’s lived experience. It rejects abortion at the center of a pro-woman perspective. Fiorina’s view on taxpayer funding of abortion is a consensus view in every state in the nation. This consensus is based in real policy currently on the table, yet as seen in the recent health care debate, the minority has been imposed on the American public. This has been the centerpiece of Fiorina’s conversation about abortion. Barbara Boxer is right on one point: that on November 2nd the voters of California have a clear choice. Barbara Boxer’s support for abortion on-demand at the taxpayer’s expense puts her firmly in the minority on the abortion issue.”
Boxer has made a decision to make a big deal out of abortion in the race, hoping to paint Fiorina as extreme.
Fiorina is extremely comfortable in her pro-life position — she spoke with ease about even embryonic-stem-cell research last night, turning the question into a little bit of a teaching moment.
Fiorina’s tone, manner, and facts make Boxer look like the extreme one. Senator Boxer may come to regret making it such an issue this time around.
I wrote about this aspect of the race here a few weeks ago.
