Abortion is the latest issue that the Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz campaigns are tussling over, with Rubio’s allies attacking Cruz for claims Cruz made about Rubio’s record on funding Planned Parenthood.
At a campaign stop in South Carolina Friday, the Texas senator pointed to Rubio’s vote for a spending bill that included funding for Planned Parenthood as proof the Florida senator had a weaker record on abortion.
“That’s a mistake. So he and I disagree on that,” Cruz said, according to Politico. “We could have defunded Planned Parenthood in the wake of those videos but too many Republicans in Washington, especially leadership, were afraid to stand and fight.”
Rubio’s campaign dismissed the characterization of Rubio’s vote, and spokesman Alex Conant told Politico, “Ted Cruz is willing to do or say anything to get elected — now he’s just making things up.”
Saturday, Rubio’s allies, including ex-2016 candidates now supporting him, rushed to his defense.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) called Rubio a “a staunch defender of life,” in a statement released by the Rubio campaign, and said, “For Ted Cruz to suggest otherwise is a disservice to the pro-life cause.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) accused Cruz of “using the issue as a political weapon,” also in a statement released by the Rubio campaign.
Carol Tobias, the president of the National Right to Life Committee, took Rubio’s side as well and in a statement called Cruz’s attack “inaccurate and misleading.”
“Marco Rubio voted to defund Planned Parenthood before Ted Cruz ever got to the U.S. Senate,” Tobias said, adding that since Cruz joined the Senate, their voting records on the issue has been identical.
