On abortion, Fetterman supports Roe while Oz opposes feds interfering
Anaiya Deloatch, who supports abortion rights, poses for a portrait at a rally on July 4, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo: Mandel Ngan via Getty Images
Candidates for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat engaged sparred over abortion rights, with Republican Mehmet Oz emphasizing that the federal government should not interfere on the issue.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania is among the swing states most supportive of abortion rights, and abortion has been a core issue in the race as Fetterman was one of countless Democrats who leaned hard into the abortion rights fight after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
What we're watching: Lieutenant Governor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman drew contrast between his record on abortion and his opponent's.
- "If you believe that the choice of your reproductive freedom belongs with Dr. Oz, then you have a choice. But if you believe that the choice for abortion belongs between you and your doctor, that's what I fight for."
- "Roe v. Wade for me should be the law; he celebrated when Roe v. Wade went down."
Republican candidate Mehmet Oz took what is likely his most moderate stance yet on the issue, saying abortion should be between "a woman, her doctor and local political leaders."
- Asked three times whether he would vote for Sen. Lindsey Graham's proposed bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks, Oz sidestepped each time, saying, “I am not going to support federal federal rules that block the ability of states to do what they wish to do.”
The intrigue: Oz's abortion stance is a stark departure from the primaries when Oz said that abortion at any stage of pregnancy is “still murder” because he believes that life begins at conception, according to audio obtained by NBC News.