On Sunday, Presidential candidate Ben Carson made the shocking statement on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that women who have abortions are similar to slave owners.
To many, Carson’s statements that tie abortion to slavery were astounding. But, to close followers of the likely House Speaker Paul Ryan, the concept was sadly familiar:
- April 2013: Paul Ryan “called supporters of the anti-abortion movement ‘the heirs of the Founding Fathers and Abraham Lincoln’” and “compared the fight to ban abortion and curtail access to reproductive care to the battle to end slavery.” Although he encouraged pro-lifers to work with pro-choice advocates to advance their pro-life cause, he did not provide specifics and ultimately said, “We want a country where [abortion] isn’t even considered.” [MSNBC, 4/12/13]
- September 2010: Paul Ryan stated that the Supreme Court made a “virtually … identical mistake” in Roe v. Wade as it had made in Dred Scott by failing to identify who “qualifies” as a human being for purposes of protecting a person’s “natural rights.” In Dred Scott, the Court ruled that African-American slaves were essentially property and were not afforded the same rights as white men. According to Ryan, in Roe v. Wade, the Court likewise refused to “speculate” as to what qualifies as “human” and stated that, “like the Dred Scott decision, [Roe v. Wade] has wounded America and solved nothing.” [Rep. Paul Ryan Opinion Piece, 9/20/10; Associated Press, 8/20/12]
For more on the super conservative background of likely Speaker Paul Ryan, click here.