Montana GOP Senate Candidate Says Young Women Are ‘Indoctrinated’ On Abortion Issue

Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy of Montana lamented that “young women between the ages of 19 and 30” are being “indoctrinated” on the issue of abortion during a campaign stop last year, according to The Daily Montanan.

“They’ve been indoctrinated for too long,” Sheehy said in recordings made public on Monday. “Abortion is their No. 1 concern. It’s all they want to talk about. They are single-issue voters. It’s all about pro-choice, pro-choice, ‘Republicans are pro-life, they want to take my rights away and lock me up and throw me away in prison.’”

He added: “And I said, well, are you familiar with what Democrats’ position is on abortion? It’s called murder. That is the position of the American Democrat Party.”

As the outlet noted, the claim that abortion makes it legal to kill newborns has been repeatedly debunked.

Sheehy, a wealthy rancher and former U.S. Navy SEAL, is hoping to oust Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in a race that is likely to determine control of the U.S. Senate.

Tester, a three-term senator, has survived for years in the ruby-red state on the strength of his personal brand, but that may not be enough for him this time, given growing political polarization, increased attention to the race’s national implications and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s sky-high popularity in Montana. Tester has sought to distance himself from national Democrats but is facing a barrage of GOP ads criticizing him for voting to impeach Trump and supporting President Joe Biden’s policies.

During their Senate debate last week, Sheehy said he supported abortion restrictions except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk and declined to rule out supporting a national ban on abortion.

“At some point when there’s another viable life included, that life also has the right to protection. … Commonsense life legislation is what I support,” Sheehy said.

Tester, meanwhile, criticized Sheehy for calling abortion “murder” and framed the issue as a matter of protecting individual freedoms, a tactic that could resonate in a state with libertarian tendencies.

“Women should be able to make their own health care decisions,” Tester said. “It shouldn’t be the federal government, a bureaucrat or a judge. Women should. That’s what Montanans like.”