Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., slammed Democrats as "abortion extremists" and demands to know when they think life begins.
Scott made his comments in a column for The Wall Street Journal posted on Monday evening.
"I have a simple question for Democrats: When do you believe life begins?" he wrote. "The Republican position on abortion is based on a fundamental belief that life begins at conception. It's a conclusion grounded in faith and values, but also in science.
"Put simply, science has revealed that an unborn baby is a human being, and voters agree. According to recent polling conducted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, 73% of voters agree that an unborn baby is a human being."
He asked if Democrats believe life begins at conception. "At viability?" Scott continued. "At birth? After birth? They won't say. Even more disconcerting, reporters won't ask them. It's a dereliction of duty by the mainstream media not to push the question, and it's an abdication of their responsibility to inform the American people and spur legitimate debate."
Scott said since the high court's draft opinion was released, "Democrats have come out as the abortion extremists we've always know they are. They've staked out a position that is simply outside the mainstream of where average American voters are.
"Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in swing states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin embraced legalizing abortion up until the moment of birth. Some, such as Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, are refusing to say if there should be any restrictions on abortion whatever."
Scott noted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is planning to move ahead with "another vote on the Women's Health Protection Act, which would legalize abortion up until the moment of birth."
Scott said Republicans say life begins at conception "because we believe in science and place value in every life, born, and unborn.
"Once Democrats have an answer, we can have a legitimate debate on the issue."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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