Iowa Parent Accuses Fiorina Of Using Preschoolers As Props At Anti-Abortion Rally

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina is surrounded by preschool students as she speaks during the Iowa Right to Life Presidential Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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An Iowa parent accused Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina of using his four-year-old son as a prop Wednesday at a Des Moines anti-abortion rally.

Chris Beck told The Guardian that his son was on a field trip at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden when Fiorina directed him and more than a dozen other young children in front of a huge banner with a picture of a fetus for her speech about harvesting organs from aborted babies.

Beck’s son, Chatham Beck, is pictured above wearing in the dark grey shirt directly in front of Fiorina. Beck told The Guardian that he first heard about Fiorina’s rally from his son’s childcare provider.

“The kids went there to see the plants,” Beck told The Guardian. “She ambushed my son’s field trip.”

“I would not want my four-year-old going to that forum,” he added. “He can’t fully comprehend that stuff. He likes dinosaurs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers.”

Fiorina’s campaign said in an emailed statement to the newspaper that it was “happy” to have the children attend.

“We were happy that these children chose to come to Carly’s event with their adult supervisor,” the statement read, according to the newspaper.

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