Republican Missouri Senate Candidat Mark McCloskey stated last week that he believes incest victims and rape victims aged 13 should not have abortions. He cited a case where a client was raped when he was 13, but gave birth to a child with a master's degree.
The comments were made in response to a question from an audience member at a forum held in Osage Beach.
Many candidates claim they are pro-life, but they may not be 100% pro-life. According to a Facebook video, one woman in the audience stated that there were many candidates who claimed they are pro-life. It would be permitted in this instance.
McCloskey, a St. Louis personal injuries attorney, replied that he does not believe in exceptions.
I was down in Poplar Bluff some months back when someone asked me this question: So would you force a 13 year old who has been raped by a relative to have that child? I replied, "Yes, and more than that, Ive got that client." She was raped at 13 by her uncle, had the child, graduated high school, went to college, and earned a masters degree. She would have aborted that child, but she finished high school and went on to college. Now she has a masters.
McCloskey may have meant that both the mother as well as the child received masters degrees. McCloskey's campaign could not be reached immediately to comment on the circumstances in which the mother became his client.
He did not discuss whether his no exceptions view included abortions to protect the life of the mother.
These statements are some of the most forceful yet by Republicans seeking to end abortions, with very few exceptions. Missouri passed a law banning abortions after 8 weeks, with no exceptions for incest or rape. However, it was blocked by a federal judge from being implemented. While most Missouri Republicans are pro-abortion, few Missourians have addressed the issues of rape or incest.
American Bridge, a Democratic research group, captured a portion of his comments and sent it to The Star by American Bridge. The entire hour-and-a half-hour-long candidate forum hosted by We the People Camden County was also available online.
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Jane Cunningham (a Republican former state senator) attended the event and said that the audience was delighted by his answer. She said that the right to life is an important part of the decision-making process for primary voters.
Cunningham stated that it is one of the litmus test if you are running in a Republican primary.
Republicans running for the U.S. Senate have struggled with abortion exceptions. A television station asked Todd Akin (the Republican nominee for Senate), if he supported abortion rights for women who have been raped.
Akin, who passed away this month, said that if it's a legitimate rape the female body has methods to try to stop that whole thing down. This was a comment that cost him his Senate campaign.
McCloskeys' opponents in the Republican primary all backed anti-abortion positions.
Eric Schmitt, Attorney General, is fighting the 2019 Missouri law before a federal court. He announced Tuesday that he would join a lawsuit against Biden to restore a Trump-era order which barred family planning clinics from referring women for abortions. Former Governor Eric Greitens pointed out that he convened a special legislative session about abortion in 2017.
National abortion rights are dependent on the outcome of a Supreme Court case that will be heard later in the year. It concerns Mississippi's ban on 15-week abortions. Roe v. Wade was a 1973 precedent which established a constitutional right for abortion in the first trimester. This case could see that Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Congress could play a greater role in the regulation of abortion if Roe is repealed. The House passed a bill in September that would codify federal abortion rights. The Senate is currently evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, so it's almost certain to fail.
McCloskey and his wife became famous last summer after they aimed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching down their street, St. Louis. McCloskey launched a campaign to become senator this year. He later pleaded guilty for misdemeanor attack in the incident. His wife pleaded guilty misdemeanor harassment. Gov. Mike Parson promised both a pardon weeks later.
McCloskey donated in the past to Democratic candidates, including former Sen. Claire McCaskill who was defeated by Akin in 2012.
Osage Beach: He said that it bothered him and his family since grade school, when some death penalty opponents supported abortion rights. The audience applauded his comments.
He said that the Supreme Court justice in the most horrific crimes does not have the right decide who should live or die. However, every 13-year old girl living on the streets should have the right to determine the fate of her child's life.
