SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman speaks during an August 12, 2022 campaign event in Erie. (Photo: Nate Smallwood/Getty Images)
Fetterman Vows to Fight for Reproductive Rights After Oz Calls Abortion 'Murder'
"Oz knows his position isn't popular," the frontrunner in the 2022 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race retorted. "That's why you need a hot mic in order to hear it."
Aug 31, 2022
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman on Wednesday seized on a recording of Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz calling abortion "murder" to underscore his own support for reproductive freedom and remind Pennsylvania voters of what's at stake in November's midterm election.
"Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
The Daily Beast on Wednesday published audio recorded at a virtual May campaign event during which Oz--who as recently as 2019 voiced support for abortion rights--spoke about his views on the subject.
"I do believe life starts at conception, and I've said that multiple times," Oz told voters. "If life starts at conception, why do you care what age the heart starts beating at? It's, you know, it's still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart's beating or not."
Fetterman, whose campaign released a statement decrying the Republican's "radical, out-of-touch position," said that "Oz knows his position isn't popular. That's why you need a hot mic in order to hear it."
The statement added that "Oz has on multiple occasions said that the only exception he supports to abortion is in the case of the life of the mother, without noting any exceptions for rape or incest."
"He wants to let extremists ban abortion" in Pennsylvania "and across the country," the campaign added. "Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
Abortion has become a key focus for the midterms nationwide in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade. According to Pew Research Center polling this month, 56% of registered voters say the issue will be very important in their vote, up from 43% in March.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman on Wednesday seized on a recording of Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz calling abortion "murder" to underscore his own support for reproductive freedom and remind Pennsylvania voters of what's at stake in November's midterm election.
"Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
The Daily Beast on Wednesday published audio recorded at a virtual May campaign event during which Oz--who as recently as 2019 voiced support for abortion rights--spoke about his views on the subject.
"I do believe life starts at conception, and I've said that multiple times," Oz told voters. "If life starts at conception, why do you care what age the heart starts beating at? It's, you know, it's still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart's beating or not."
Fetterman, whose campaign released a statement decrying the Republican's "radical, out-of-touch position," said that "Oz knows his position isn't popular. That's why you need a hot mic in order to hear it."
The statement added that "Oz has on multiple occasions said that the only exception he supports to abortion is in the case of the life of the mother, without noting any exceptions for rape or incest."
"He wants to let extremists ban abortion" in Pennsylvania "and across the country," the campaign added. "Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
Abortion has become a key focus for the midterms nationwide in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade. According to Pew Research Center polling this month, 56% of registered voters say the issue will be very important in their vote, up from 43% in March.
From Your Site Articles
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman on Wednesday seized on a recording of Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz calling abortion "murder" to underscore his own support for reproductive freedom and remind Pennsylvania voters of what's at stake in November's midterm election.
"Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
The Daily Beast on Wednesday published audio recorded at a virtual May campaign event during which Oz--who as recently as 2019 voiced support for abortion rights--spoke about his views on the subject.
"I do believe life starts at conception, and I've said that multiple times," Oz told voters. "If life starts at conception, why do you care what age the heart starts beating at? It's, you know, it's still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart's beating or not."
Fetterman, whose campaign released a statement decrying the Republican's "radical, out-of-touch position," said that "Oz knows his position isn't popular. That's why you need a hot mic in order to hear it."
The statement added that "Oz has on multiple occasions said that the only exception he supports to abortion is in the case of the life of the mother, without noting any exceptions for rape or incest."
"He wants to let extremists ban abortion" in Pennsylvania "and across the country," the campaign added. "Oz would be a rubber stamp to criminalize abortion and send doctors, nurses, and patients to jail."
Abortion has become a key focus for the midterms nationwide in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade. According to Pew Research Center polling this month, 56% of registered voters say the issue will be very important in their vote, up from 43% in March.
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.