GOP Congressman: No Abortion — ‘You Can’t Find One Instance’ Of Death From Childbirth
Joe Walsh, the Tea Party Republican U.S. Congressman from Illinois, says abortion should be illegal,  “without exception,†including in cases of rape, incest and health and life of the mother, because “you can’t find one instance†of a death from childbirth. Of course, this is more ignorance and anti-science lying from the tea party, along the lines of Todd Akin‘s infamous claim that women rarely get pregnant if their rape was “legitimate.”
Walsh, the former dead-beat dad who has a 100% “True Blue†rating from the anti-gay hate group Family Research Council, said last night:
“With modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance… There’s no such exception as life of the mother. And as far as health of the mother, same thing, with advances in science and technology, health of the mother has become a tool for abortions anytime under any reason.”
Avivs Shen, at Think Progress, notes:
In fact, pregnancy-related deaths have increased in the US, climbing to a rate of 15.1 deaths for every 100,00 live births. Walsh’s own colleague, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), spoke on the House floor in 2011 about getting an abortion because her life was in jeopardy.
By pretending these women don’t exist, Walsh joins the ranks of his other colleague, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), who ignited a firestorm over his opposition to a rape exception because “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.â€
And The Hufington Post adds:
Planned Parenthood Action Fund released the following statement Friday from Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens in response to Walsh’s statements:
“Joe Walsh’s ignorance about women’s health is alarming. It is deeply troubling that he and some politicians have such a fundamental disregard for women and women’s health. As the advocate for Planned Parenthood health centers, we know that ending a pregnancy can often be a very complex, personal decision and that there are absolutely times that a woman’s life depends on it,” the statement reads.
“If Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are elected, these ignorant statements will be more than words — they would become law. Joe Walsh and the Tea Party Congress are ready to completely ban abortion, and Mitt Romney has said that he ‘would be delighted’ to sign an abortion ban into law. The Romney/Ryan ticket has promised that they would put women’s personal medical decisions in the hands of politicians like Joe Walsh and Todd Akin.â€
Walsh, who has called President Obama a “tyrant” and claimed he got elected because “he was black,” is running against Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, the former Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs who lost both of her legs in combat.
Walsh has chastized Duckworth — Lt. Colonel Duckworth — about her service in the U.S. military. “I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about,” he said. “Our true heroes, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about,” Adam Weinstein, at Mother Jones, reported:
After telling Politico last spring that he had “so much respect” for Duckworth’s sacrifice, Walsh went for the throat: “What else has she done? Female, wounded veteran…ehhh. She is nothing more than a handpicked Washington bureaucrat.” In July, he took another shot, suggesting at a campaign event that Duckworth—now a lieutenant colonel and a recipient of a Purple Heart, an Air Medal, and an Army Commendation Medal—should shut up about her service.
Â
http://widget.newsinc.com/single.html?WID=2&VID=23851460&freewheel=69016&sitesection=wgn
Video and transcript via Think Progress
Â
Related:Â
Another Screaming GOP Lawmaker — This Time It’s Rep. Joe Walsh (Video)
James Earl Jones: The Tea Party Is Racist
“Pro-Family†Hate Group Awards Deadbeat Dad Tea Party Congressman

Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
![]() |