GOP Gov. Candidate: Rape Victims Shouldn’t Get Abortions Because Fetus Could Become POTUS
Garrett Soldano, a Republican candidate for governor in Michigan, faced widespread backlash after he argued against survivors of sexual assault getting abortions, saying they didn’t know if their unborn baby could become president.
Soldano, citing a friend whose mother was the victim of a gang rape, claimed people who become pregnant from sexual assault were put “in this moment” by God and that the DNA of the fetus should be protected.
“And so what we must start to focus on is not only to defend the DNA when it’s created, but, however, how about we start inspiring women in the culture to let them understand and know how heroic they are? And how unbelievable that they are?” he told conservative commentator April Moss on her “Face The Facts” podcast.
“That God put them in this moment and they don’t know that little baby inside them may be the next president, maybe the next person who changes humanity, may get us out of the situation in the future,” Soldano added, per a video of the conversation that Heartland Signal tweeted Monday. “We must always, always protect that DNA and allow it to have a voice.”
Garrett Soldano, a GOP candidate for governor in Michigan, says we must inspire women who have been raped to understand how heroic they are in giving birth and see that "God put them in this moment."
They don't know "that baby inside them may be the next president." pic.twitter.com/uVVqX2G54S— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) January 31, 2022
Critics tore into Soldano’s assertion:
The state should not compel victims of sexual violence to endure further pain and suffering. THE STATE SHOULD NOT COMPOUND A RAPISTS IMPACT ON THE VICTIM. Let victims decide for themselves. https://t.co/JxAZVGfitD
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 1, 2022
This is disgusting🤬.
We should be inspiring women who’ve been raped to press charges & we should have a system that takes them seriously. We should have a world where men don’t think they’re entitled to women’s bodies. We should have a world where ppl respect #ReproRights. https://t.co/c7zMw067op— State Senator Erika Geiss (SD06) (@SenErikaGeiss) February 1, 2022
We are in the “PROTECT THE DNA OF RAPISTS” phase of misogyny. https://t.co/5ojzcEmbGy
— Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) February 1, 2022
can't help but note how it's never the woman with the possibility of becoming president in this narrative https://t.co/zFarjY0WPt
— Jodi Beggs (@jodiecongirl) February 1, 2022
if "holy sh*t!" was a person ... https://t.co/x1km6RAmsa
— Don" 't ask me google questions" Cheadle (@DonCheadle) February 1, 2022
Spoken like a true right wing man who has never been victimized. This is the kind of Byzantine thinking and absolute arrogance and dismissal of the importance of women as human beings--not inanimate vessels for men's use--that makes younger people run fast and far from religion. https://t.co/yhUEwaxWrc
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) February 1, 2022
Awwwww. "Ladies should shut up and be grateful for their rape babies" is so 2012. How quaint. https://t.co/Ffm6O4v3Cx
— Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) February 1, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
