Issues

The Person:

This is one of our country’s most sensitive and divisive topics. As a man, I will never be able to understand what women have to deal with as they live life on a daily basis- menstruation, menopause, or the anxiety when trying to conceive. As a son to a mother that has had fertility issues and suffered an ectopic pregnancy and as a husband to a wife that recently had a miscarriage post the overturning of Roe v. Wade, this is an issue I’ve had to deal with personally. 

The Principle:

My faith leads me to believe that no life is greater than the other. We should fight to ensure that everyone is treated equally from conception (Psalm 139:13-16).

The Problem:

We need A New Way Forward in our conversation on Abortion. Our country has been stuck in gridlock for the last 50 years on the issue.  There are two current camps within our political landscape: Pro-Life, which argues it’s rooted in a desire to protect life. And  Pro-Choice, which believes that only a woman should have control over her own body.

I’ll tell you what I believe: Both the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice labels do not allow us to have a real and honest conversation about the issue. I believe that life exists inside of a woman’s womb. I believe that there should be protections for women who have been victims of rape or incest, when medically recommended (e.g. terminal illness) or when the life of the mother (e.g. Kate Cox) is involved. I believe that we should be working to reduce the abortion rate in our country and in our state. I believe that having a legitimate social safety net for women is the best way of reducing abortions in our country.

My advocacy for life in the womb is not out of a desire to take rights away from women, it is an attempt to advocate for life that is not yet able to advocate for itself. 

I believe that most Republicans are not truly Pro-Life because their advocacy is limited to the unborn. My “Women Deserve Better” platform is only consistent if I advocate for the girl in the womb the same way I advocate for women outside the womb.

The Policy Proposal:

There are 6 policy goals I will fight for:

1. Preventing unintended pregnancies by increasing access to contraception and sex education.

2. Supporting maternal and child health by eliminating the cost of prenatal care and making childbirth free.

3. Opening up pathways of economic and social opportunity for women & mothers by working to end pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.

4. Holding men accountable because the burden in abortion conversations is always — unfairly — on the women. I would work to create grant funding for local communities to have an Office on Father, Men, and Boys and continue the work started by President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper.

5. Promoting healthy relationships by establishing programming in local communities where couples can access therapy at no cost.

6. Strengthening adoption and foster care systems by decreasing adoption costs, increasing funding and adding further accountability in our foster care system.