'They hate the country!' Republican attacks women who get abortions in unearthed audio
A 2022 interview has been unearthed showing an Arizona Republican lawmaker attacking women who have abortions as hating America and being all "about self."
Writing for the Huffington Post, Jennifer Bendery revealed the audio of Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) came from an appearance on the conservative “Seth Leibsohn Show.”
At one point, the host shows a clip of a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing where a woman said her abortion was the best decision she’d ever made and “an act of self-love.”
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One in four women are expected to have an abortion at some point in their lifetime, the Guttmacher Institute reported in its April 2024 research.
However, according to Schweikert, regardless of the circumstances, it's selfish.
“Think about what she just said,” Schweikert said. “You have a number of these [inaudible] that life means nothing, self means everything.”
“It’s about self. It’s about self. It’s about self,” ranted the Republican lawmaker. “And you wonder why they hate the country because they only care about themselves.”
“It’s harsh, and it’s mean, but it’s true,” Schweikert continued. “You need to embrace how sick society is and how sick the Democratic Party has become.”
Bendery contacted the host and Schweikert's campaign, but only Leibsohn responded with an excuse for the congressman.
He explained that saying "a number of these folks" doesn't mean everyone.
Bendery noted that it isn't the first controversial thing Schweikert said about women. In Nov. 2022, he said single and childless women only vote for a candidate based on what’s “trendy.”
A few months ago, an old video of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) went viral in which he attacked "childless cat ladies" who don't have any real stake in America's future because they don't have kids. He then blamed the women for taking his comments "the wrong way." He said he was being "sarcastic."
Schweikert is in a very close race in a district where President Joe Biden won with 50.1% over Donald Trump's 48.6%. The congressman won his election by just .8% of the vote. It was one of the top three closest races in 2022 and could be a pickup for Democrats in 2024.
Schweikert narrowly escaped being censured by the Ethics Committee after an investigation in 2020.