The chair of the Republican National Committee said Friday that she “personally” is in favor of abortion bans that include exceptions for rape and incest and called the test case in Ohio of an impregnated 12-year-old girl who was raped and would be forced to carry a child under the state’s fetal heartbeat law “egregious.”
When asked about the test case by CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Ronna McDaniel cut her off.
“And that’s egregious, I mean, that’s — my heart goes out to that little girl,” McDaniel said, before raising a complaint that CNN never asks Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez about his stance on abortion. “Why are Democrats not asked the same tough question? We always get asked and have to qualify why we support life.”
Camerota pushed back, asking if she was “comfortable” with there being no exception.
“Listen, personally, I would have the exception,” she said. “That’s my personal belief.”
McDaniel isn’t the first establishment Republican to speak out against the new Alabama law, the strictest abortion ban in the country, designed as part of an effort to challenge Roe v. Wade. Several Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), said he also wants to see exceptions for cases of rape and incest in anti-abortion laws.
RNC chair says she "personally" wanted to see exceptions for rape and incest in Alabama abortion ban pic.twitter.com/hIQDTFgvkE
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 17, 2019
