Joe O’Dea Voted YES on 22-Week Abortion Ban with No Exceptions for Rape & Incest

“O'Dea's comments on abortion are the latest example of the candidate embracing conservative viewpoints”

GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea’s recent admission of voting for Prop 115, a 2020 Colorado ballot measure that would’ve imposed a 22-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest, confirms that he’s out of step with Coloradans on abortion. According to Axios Denver, O’Dea’s vote for a 22-week abortion ban exposes “ deeper contradictions in O'Dea's projected moderate image” and it’s the “latest example of the candidate embracing conservative viewpoints.”

Senator John Hickenlooper also called out O’Dea during a roundtable with abortion rights advocates for muddying the waters on abortion and said: 

He may be out calling himself a moderate because he thinks that word is special and will endear him to certain voters, but a lie is a lie. He is not a moderate person in the context of what Coloradans believe and why.

At the same event, Coloradan and abortion patient Christina Taylor explained how O’Dea’s position would harm abortion patients:

We went to the 20-week ultrasound and learned that my baby had no kidneys or bladder and he couldn’t produce or digest amniotic fluid. So we learned that if I tried to carry him to term that he would likely pass inside me... Now, when receiving news like that, knowing I had the freedom to choose what was best for our family and being able to make that decision without, you know, any time limits or any legislative barriers was just — it meant the world to me.

Axios Denver: Bennet's new TV ad forces O'Dea to take tougher abortion stance

Why it matters: Democrats see abortion as a defining line in the 2022 midterm elections, but O'Dea's stance on the issue is muddying the picture for voters.

• By prioritizing the topic, Bennet is exposing deeper contradictions in O'Dea's projected moderate image.

Details: The first-time candidate said he supports access to abortion early in a pregnancy, but didn't further specify until pressed on the issue in the wake of the ad.

• O'Dea now says he would outlaw abortions except in cases of rape, incest or medical necessity after 20 weeks, or 22 weeks after a woman's last menstrual cycle, the standard used by most doctors.

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Of note: O'Dea recently told the Colorado Sun that he voted for a failed 2020 ballot measure to ban abortions after 22 weeks of gestation. About 60% of the state opposed the measure.

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The big picture: O'Dea's comments on abortion are the latest example of the candidate embracing conservative viewpoints and putting guardrails on his middle-of-the-road reputation.

• The other most obvious juxtaposition is how he claimed to be in favor of maintaining Roe v. Wade's protections, yet acknowledged he would have supported Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

• He has also appealed to the middle by criticizing Trump, but admits he voted for Trump twice and left open the possibility of doing so again.

Read more in Axios Denver, Colorado Newsline, and Colorado Times Recorder.