Chicago, IL - Republican Rep. Joe Walsh told reporters Thursday that it is not necessary to perform an abortion on a woman to save her life.
"There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing, with advances in science and technology," Walsh said. " 'Health of the mother' has become a tool for abortions anytime, for any reason.
Walsh, a freshman elected in 2010 with Tea Party support, is in a tight battle for re-election against Democrat Tammy Duckworth, a former Veterans Affairs official.
The Chicago Tribune said reporters asked whether Walsh was saying it is never medically necessary to conduct an abortion to save a woman's life and the congressman responded, "Absolutely."
It's unclear yet whether Walsh's comments will reverberate in the same way as GOP Rep. Todd Akin's on "legitimate rape." Akin has apologized for saying women can prevent
Advpregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape," but top Republicans have abandoned him as he runs for the U.S. Senate.
Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement that Walsh has an "ignorance about women's health."
"It is deeply troubling that he and some politicians have such a fundamental disregard for women and women's health," she said.
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Catalina Camia
On Politics anchor Catalina Camia is equal parts political junkie and baseball fan. She has written about campaigns and Congress, worked in Texas and D.C., and said goodbye to editing for this gig.
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