Pro-life Republican admits abortion ban ‘stinks’ for women

A pro-life Republican Utah legislator who is eligible for re-election stunned his Democratic opponent during a Thursday night debate when he commented on abortion bans.

“I get it, if you’re a woman it stinks,” said GOP Rep. John Curtis. “That most of these legislators are men, most of these decisions are made by men.”

Curtis, onstage next to Democratic opponent Glenn Wright, spoke about how the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, pushed decisions about legalizing abortions to the states.

“I wish it was somewhere else,” Curtis continued. “As a man, I wish I didn’t have to make this decision. I wish women could make this decision.”

Wright noticeably raised his eyebrows and shook his head when Curtis, a three-term congressman representing Utah’s 3rd district, said he wished women could make their own reproductive decisions — the point of Democrats often calling their abortion stance “pro- call it choice.

Democrats hope abortion will remain a key issue in the run-up to the midterm elections as both their majorities in Congress are at risk.

GOP Rep. John Curtis’ (left) rival, Democrat Glenn Wright (right) visibly raised his eyebrows and shook his head as the Republican legislature expressed his wish that women could make their own reproductive decisions

Wright, like other Democratic candidates across the country, has pledged to vote to codify Roe v. Wade if he makes Washington, D.C.

He highlighted the exchange on his Twitter account Friday, sharing a tweet from Utah Democrats communications director Ben Anderson calling Curtis a “shocking lack of self-awareness.”

Curtis’ comments come after South Carolina State Representative Neal Collins, also a Republican, expressed regret in August for voting for a strict ‘fetal heartbeat’ law, which bans termination of pregnancy for some women as early as six weeks.

Collins said he received a call from a doctor who said he had a 19-year-old patient who had miscarried and was unable to care for her due to the law – putting her at risk of sepsis and death.

Abortion is restricted or outright banned in 16 red states, mostly concentrated in the southern United States

“The doctor told me she would pass this fetus in the toilet. She’ll have to deal with that on her own,” Collins said, as the bill banned doctors from operating on the woman to remove the dying fetus because a “heartbeat” was still detected.

“There is more than a 50 percent chance that she will lose her uterus. There is a 10 percent chance she will develop sepsis and die herself,” the South Carolina state legislature said, tearfully. “What we do matters,” he told his fellow state lawmakers.

A number of pregnancy horror stories have emerged since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overthrew Roe in June.

For example, a 10-year-old rape victim was forced to travel from her home state of Ohio to Indiana to complete the procedure.

Since Utah is a deep red state, none of the House races look particularly competitive.