John Kasich presidential campaign, 2016/Abortion
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 John Kasich |
Governor of Ohio (2011-2019) U.S. House, Ohio, District 12 (1983-2001) Ohio State Senate (1979-1983) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- John Kasich discussed abortion and the Supreme Court during an interview with The Hartford Courant on April 22, 2016. Kasich said, "I'm pro-life except in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. ... I think we're pretty split. I think you have about 50-50 here. I respect someone who doesn't agree with me on the issue, I just don't happen to agree with them. ... There are a lot of other issues that are critically important to women as well. Child care, early childhood, the environment, women's health ... I expanded Medicaid [in Ohio]. I'm against Roe v. Wade, but we have an appointment to the [Supreme Court] bench, which will be important. I don't do litmus tests on judges. I want a conservative judge. In terms of legislative initiatives, I have to see what comes.”[1]
- On April 3, 2016, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Kasich why he did not believe that women should be punished for having an abortion if he believed the act took a life. Kasich answered, “Because I think it's difficult on her to begin with. That's the way I feel about it, George. And that's the end of it." After Stephanopoulos asked if doctors should be punished for performing illegal abortions, Kasich continued, “Let me just put it to you this way: I'm not. Today, I'm not. I've just told you how I feel about it. Repeal Roe v. Wade, make exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, turn it back to the states for them to decide what they do. We would, you know, ultimately have a policy. It has to be something that can gain acceptance as something that's reasonable and we'll go from there.”[2]
- In response to Donald Trump's statement that that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions if abortion is criminalized, made during a town hall on MSNBC on March 30, 2016, John Kasich said, "Of course, women shouldn't be punished.”[3]
- Kasich signed into law a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood in Ohio on February 21, 2016. The law, according to Cleveland.com, redirected "about $1.3 million in state-directed grants from Ohio's 28 Planned Parenthood centers to federally qualified health centers, health departments, and other facilities that don't perform elective abortions or contract with organizations that do." The bill also earmarked "$250,000 from Medicaid funding for community health centers only.”[4]
- After the “Ohio House voted to strip Planned Parenthood of $1.3 million in funding February 10, 2016,” John Kasich spokesman Joe Andrews said, "Gov. Kasich has worked with legislative leaders to ensure that public dollars are used to their best purpose. The Ohio Department of Health had already stopped awarding state dollars to Planned Parenthood." Planned Parenthood attacked Kasich for supporting the defunding of the reproductive healthcare organization. According to The Columbus Dispatch, One ad said "John Kasich said he supports women and families. So why does Kasich want to defund Planned Parenthood, cut programs that prevent infant mortality and end important domestic violence prevention initiatives?” Kasich responded to the ads in a Facebook post, writing, “Planned Parenthood can't and won't intimidate me. I'm proudly pro-life. -John.”[5]
- The Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio filed for a preliminary injunction on December 13, 2015, to prevent Ohio health officials “from interfering with its services.” The health organization took this preemptive action after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on December 11, 2015, that his office had conducted an investigation showing “that Planned Parenthood—or the biomedical companies working with the health organization—dispose of aborted fetal parts in landfills.” On December 13, 2015, John Kasich defended DeWine, saying, “The attorney general has done thorough work and his findings are disturbing. I've tasked the Ohio Department of Health to work with the attorney general to take appropriate legal action. This investigation shows the need for further work with the Ohio General Assembly to reign in Planned Parenthood, while continuing to ensure access to vital health care services for women."[6]
- During CNN's September 16, 2015, Republican presidential debate, Kasich proposed finding a way to defund Planned Parenthood without shutting down the government. He said, "Well, I agree that we should defund Planned Parenthood. I don't know many people in America who don't think that we should, and in my state, we're trying to figure out how to get it done, because we are threatened with the federal government taking all of our Medicaid money away. I think there is a way to get this done by giving governors the ability to be able to act to defund Planned Parenthood. But when (ph) it comes to closing down the federal government, you gotta be very careful about that. When we shut the government down — if we have a chance at success and it's a great principle, yes. The president of the United States is not going to sign this, and all we're gonna do is shut the government down, and then we're gonna open up — open it up, and the American people are gonna shake their heads and say, 'what's the story with these Republicans?' So I think there is a way to get to cutting off the funding for Planned Parenthood. I was in the Congress for 18 years, balanced the budget, cut taxes, got it done. Changed welfare, went around the president to get welfare reform done. There are ways to do it without having to shut the government down, but I'm sympathetic to the fact that we don't want this organization to get funding, and the money ought to be reprogrammed for family planning in other organizations that don't support this tactic. But I would not be for shutting the government down because I don't think it's going to work out."[7]
- In September 2015, John Kasich said he would sign an Ohio state bill banning abortions where the fetus is at risk for Down Syndrome.[8]
- Kasich voted for the Child Custody Protection Act in 1999, which made it illegal to transport minors across state lines in order to get an abortion. He also voted to ban partial-birth abortions in 2000.[9]
- Kasich received consistent ratings of 100 percent from the National Right to Life Committee during his tenure in Congress.[10]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term John + Kasich + Abortion
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The Hartford Courant, "
- ↑ CNN, "Kasich won't say who should be punished for abortions," April 3, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "Trump sounds off on abortion; criticism comes from all sides," March 31, 2016
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs bill to cut funding to Planned Parenthood in Ohio," February 21, 2016
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Ohio Politics Now: Planned Parenthood attacks, John Kasich says he won't be intimidated," February 11, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Ohio Planned Parenthood files suit against attorney general," December 13, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Wednesday’s GOP debate transcript, annotated," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "John Kasich Supports Ohio Bill That Would Ban Abortions For Down Syndrome," September 20, 2015
- ↑ The Political Guide, “John Kasich on Abortion," August 17, 2010
- ↑ Vote Smart, “John Richard Kasich's Ratings and Endorsements on Issue: Abortion," accessed December 3, 2014
