Pat Toomey On Abortion

Not sure whether this constitutes a flip-flop but Congressman Toomey has certainly shaded his pro-life position recently.

Shaded it from crazy extreme to merely extreme.

Take a look.

This is from August:


Here's what this self-described "center right" politician said:

I think that Roe v Wade was wrongly defined, wrongly decided and I think states should be free to restrict abortion and I would support legislation in Pennsylvania that would ban abortion and I would suggest that we have penalties for doctors who perform them if we were able to pass that law.

And when Criss Mathews asked whether doctors who performed abortions should be put in jail, Toomey answered:

At some point doctor's performing abortions, I think would be subject to that sort of penalty.

That was August. No qualifiers, no exceptions are mentioned.

And this is from the Sestak Toomey debate from earlier this week. Toomey was asked:

Mr. Toomey, abortion. Is Roe v. Wade...or would you, if elected, work to further undermine it? Or knock it out completely? Two, in terms of-- affirming judicial appointments all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, would you vote to affirm anybody who was not in your camp on that issue?

And he answered (with a lie, by the way):

Abortion’s a tough issue. And it’s one-- there’s good people on both sides of this. My views are consistent with that of a majority of the congressional delegation and the other Senator from Pennsylvania. I’m pro-life. And I would accept a ban on abortions, with the exceptions of rape and incest and the life of the mother.

I think Roe versus Wade was mistakenly-- determined. And I would support its repeal. But I’ve never advocated that we have a litmus test for judges. I think instead that what we ought to do is examine a judge’s qualifications. When Justice-- now Justice Sotomayor was first suggested, nominated by President Obama, many of my colleagues, many Republicans thought we should simply reject her candidacy.

I deemed her to be quite capable and competent and I advocated endorsing her. Joe Sestak is the one who is extreme on this issue. He is in that fringe of-- of members, very liberal, who believe in taxpayer funded abortion on demand. And no restrictions at all.

Did you see the wiggle?

He's willing to allow exceptions for rape and incest and the life of the mother.

And mediamatters has already debunked the myth that Sestak favors "taxpayer funded abortion on demand."

Pat Toomey - All abortions should be banned and doctors performing them should be sent to jail, except maybe not. It depends on which segment of the audience he's pandering to.