News · Press Release

NEW: Hung Cao Compares Abortion to Atrocities of the Holocaust and Pushes Misinformation

New reporting reveals just how extreme Republican Hung Cao is on reproductive rights

New reporting from the Washington Post today revealed just how extreme Republican Hung Cao is on reproductive rights, comparing abortion to the atrocities of the Holocaust and pushing the false, absurd lie that Democrats want to legalize “post-birth abortion.”

At a campaign event in May, Cao “inaccurately said that ‘under Governor Northam, they allow abortion all the way up to birth or even post-birth’” and “pivoted to a California bill […] where a false narrative going viral on the internet said California Democrats wanted to decriminalize infanticide.”

Cao went even further:

“‘The Nazis did this. They’ll take Jewish babies and just take the legs and just smash the babies and kill them. You think that can’t happen in this country?’ He didn’t respond to questions this week about the comments.”

Hung Cao’s lies about reproductive health care and extreme opposition to safe, legal abortion puts him way out of step with Virginians. A June poll found that an overwhelming majority of Virginians – 88% – feel that abortion should be legal under some or all circumstances.

“For Hung Cao to compare reproductive health care to the devastating atrocities of the Holocaust is horrifically offensive and dangerous,” said DCCC spokesperson Monica Robinson. “The overwhelming majority of Virginians believe abortion should be safe and legal, and Hung Cao will have to answer for his extremism at the ballot box this November.”

Washington Post: On abortion, Dems begin offensive in Va. as GOP renews old attacks
By Meagan Flynn
July 29, 2022

  • “At first, the ad from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee looks like a pitch for a new dating app, as a couple meets for the first time. By the end, the fictional woman in the relationship has died after a doctor says she needs to terminate her pregnancy to save her life, but can’t because in that society the procedure is illegal without exception.”

  • “A closing message appears on the screen: ‘Hung Cao wants to ban your right to decide your own healthcare.’”

  • “Cao […] and the Republicans in Virginia’s two other competitive districts — state Sen. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) in the 2nd and Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega in the 7th — have positioned themselves as firm opponents to abortion and unambiguously supported the demise of Roe.”

  • “Cao, Kiggans and Vega have not always been clear about their positions on specific policies and did not respond to questions for this article about how they would vote on certain abortion proposals, restrictions or bans if elected, including whether they support exceptions to abortion bans for rape, incest or protecting the life of the mother.”

  • “‘It puts Republicans in a potentially vulnerable position because the issue now matters — they simply cannot deflect the issue by saying we have settled law on this issue,’ [Mark] Rozell said. ‘What they would do in Congress really matters, and it matters in a big way.’”

  • “In video of Cao speaking about his stances on abortion at a May campaign event, provided to The Washington Post via a YouTube link, Cao inaccurately said that ‘under Governor Northam, they allow abortion all the way up to birth or even post-birth.’ Late-term abortion is illegal in Virginia unless the mother’s life is in danger; killing infants after delivery is also illegal.”

  • “Then Cao went further: ‘The Nazis did this. They’ll take Jewish babies and just take the legs and just smash the babies and kill them. You think that can’t happen in this country?’ He didn’t respond to questions this week about the comments.”

  • “House Republicans broadly rejected bills to codify rights to same-sex and interracial marriage and to contraception this month — ample campaign fodder for Democrats. (Cao, Vega and Kiggans also did not respond to questions about how they would have voted on those bills.)

  • “In Virginia’s 7th District, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) has already been on the offensive, repeatedly highlighting comments Vega made on rape-related pregnancy that were published by Axios last month, drawing outrage.”

  • “Like Cao, Vega also said in a candidate survey by the Prince William & Manassas Family Alliance that she would support a law ‘to protect innocent life from conception to natural death.’”

  • “Kiggans, hoping to oust Rep. Elaine Luria (D), has previously said in response to questions about her abortion stance that she is ‘100 percent, unapologetically pro-life’ and has often highlighted her opposition to using state taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortion for low-income women.”

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