ICYMI: Joe O’Dea Opposes Abortion Rights and Coloradans Can’t Trust Him in the Senate
GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea continues to prove how out of step he is with Coloradans on abortion. According to the Associated Press, O’Dea suggests his stance on abortion is dependent on whether he is a politician, and worse yet he “didn’t look at all the nuances” when voting for a 22-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
“Coloradans can’t trust Joe O’Dea to protect the right to choose. He blindly voted for an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest and admitted to trying to change his position since he’s now running for office. Ultimately he would give Mitch McConnell the majority he needs to push a nationwide abortion ban.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
State Senator Jessie Danielson emphasized that O’Dea is against abortion rights:
“Joe O'Dea supports positions against abortion rights that are radically out of step with Colorado voters and would put women's lives at risk and punish victims.”
And Colorado GOP Chair Kristi Burton Brown confirmed the GOP’s candidates are firmly pro-life:
“Our Republican candidates are very clear we’re the pro-life party,”
Read more below from AP:
“We are here in this country, right now, with patients traveling thousands of miles for care because politicians have been given the room for the least little bit of nuance,” said Adrienne Mansanares of Planned Parenthood Action Colorado during a recent news conference to back Bennet.
The message from Democrats: Republicans can’t be trusted on the issue, regardless of their personal beliefs.
…
Yet in 2020, O’Dea voted for a statewide ballot measure to bar abortions after 22 weeks that failed by 18 percentage points. The measure didn’t contain exceptions for rape, incest or to protect the mother’s life. He now says he thinks those exceptions are essential and added that he would support allowing the termination of nonviable pregnancies.
He noted he wasn’t a candidate for office when the measure was on the ballot.
“I didn’t look at all the nuances,” O’Dea said.