PHILADELPHIA, PA — Republican frontrunner Donald Trump earned the rebuke of even staunch pro-life groups after his jarring remarks on punishing women for abortions. But absent from the chorus of condemnation was Pat Toomey, whose extreme views on women’s reproductive rights fall closely with Trump’s.
In a 2010 interview, Chris Matthews engages Toomey in an exchange similar to his interview with Trump on Wednesday:
Matthews: Would you like to outlaw abortion?
Toomey: Yes, I’m pro-life…I think Roe v. Wade was wrongly defined, wrongly decided. And I think that states should be free to restrict abortion, and I would support legislation in Pennsylvania that would ban abortion. And I would suggest we have penalties for doctors who perform them if we’re able to pass that law.
Matthews: Would you put people in jail for performing abortions?
Toomey: At some point doctors performing abortions would be subject to that sort of penalty.
“Pat Toomey probably wrote the policy paper for Trump’s extreme position on women’s reproductive rights,” said Preston Maddock, spokesman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “Toomey has long called for abolishing individual protections and allowing states to legislate decisions that should be kept between a woman and her doctor. His views on punishing and penalizing people for abortions are far outside the mainstream, but fit right at home in Trump’s Republican Party.”
BACKGROUND:
TOOMEY SUPPORTED PROSECUTING DOCTORS WHO PERFORM ABORTIONS
Toomey Called Roe V. Wade “Wrongly Decided” And Suggested “Penalties For Doctors Who Perform Them.” MATTHEWS: “And would you like to outlaw abortion?” TOOMEY: “Yeah. I’m pro-life. I think.” MATTHEWS: “Would you outlaw abortion? Would you put people in jail?”TOOMEY: “Let me.”MATTHEWS: “No, would you put people. No, but I want to form the definition.”TOOMEY: “I think Roe vs. Wade was wrongly defined, wrongly decided. And I think states should be free to restrict abortion and I would support legislation in Pennsylvania that would ban abortion. And I would suggest that we have penalties for doctors who perform them, if we were able to pass that law.”
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When Asked If He Supported Putting Abortion Doctors In Jail, Toomey Said “At Some Point Doctors Performing Abortions, I Think Would Be Subject To That Sort Of Penalty.” MATTHEWS: “Would you put people in jail for performing abortions?” TOOMEY: “At some point doctors performing abortions, I think would be subject to that sort of penalty.” [YouTube, ToomeyWatch, 5/26/10; MSNBC, Hardball with Chris Matthews, 5/26/10]
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