2018 WV Senate race: on Abortion


Joe Manchin III: Prohibit abortions after 20 weeks; prohibit public funding

Q: Abortion: Mostly ban or mostly legal?

Joe Manchin (D): Mostly ban. Lifelong abortion opponent, but recognizes that Americans are divided on this. Voted for bill prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks & opposes any public funding.

Patrick Morrisey (R): Ban. Overturn Roe v Wade, stop "the pro-abortion agenda" in Congress & legislate nationwide restrictions similar to WV's.

Q: Allow employers to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if disagree with it morally?

Joe Manchin (D): Yes. Voted for bill to reverse ACA mandate for contraceptive coverage in order to safeguard religious liberty.

Patrick Morrisey (R): Yes. Strong advocate for religious liberty.

Q: Allow Planned Parenthood to receive public funds for non-abortion health services?

Joe Manchin (D): Yes. No abortion funding, but committed to "helping women get vital health services, like cancer screenings & preventive care."

Patrick Morrisey (R): No. "Has opposed all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood."

Source: 2018 CampusElect Issue Guide on West Virginia Senate race Oct 9, 2018

Patrick Morrisey: Overturn Roe v Wade; stop the pro-abortion agenda

Q: Abortion: Mostly ban or mostly legal?

Joe Manchin (D): Mostly ban. Lifelong abortion opponent, but recognizes that Americans are divided on this. Voted for bill prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks & opposes any public funding.

Patrick Morrisey (R): Ban. Overturn Roe v Wade, stop "the pro-abortion agenda" in Congress & legislate nationwide restrictions similar to WV's.

Q: Allow employers to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if disagree with it morally?

Joe Manchin (D): Yes. Voted for bill to reverse ACA mandate for contraceptive coverage in order to safeguard religious liberty.

Patrick Morrisey (R): Yes. Strong advocate for religious liberty.

Q: Allow Planned Parenthood to receive public funds for non-abortion health services?

Joe Manchin (D): Yes. No abortion funding, but committed to "helping women get vital health services, like cancer screenings & preventive care."

Patrick Morrisey (R): No. "Has opposed all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood."

Source: 2018 CampusElect Issue Guide on West Virginia Senate race Oct 9, 2018

Don Blankenship: AdWatch: Positions himself as anti-abortion and pro-Trump

Blankenship has used the ads to paint his rivals as insufficiently conservative, blasting [GOP primary opponent Evan] Jenkins over his positions on ObamaCare and climate change and [GOP primary opponent Patrick] Morrisey on abortion. He's positioned himself as an unshakable ally of President Donald Trump, who received 68 percent of the vote in the state.
Source: Politico.com AdWatch on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race Mar 20, 2018

Patrick Morrisey: Overturn Roe v. Wade

One hundred percent pro-life, Morrisey's advocacy helped lead to passage of the Pain-Capable law in West Virginia. Morrisey believes that government has a duty to protect innocent life and supports overturning Roe v. Wade. He opposes taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, and has pushed the state legislature and Congress to end funding to this organization.
Source: 2018 West Virginia Senatorial website PatrickMorrisey.com Oct 1, 2017

Paula Jean Swearengin: Pro-choice, including abortion alternatives

Q: Do you think that being pro-choice is a non-starter in a state like West Virginia?

A: We need to think outside the box on abortion. If they banned abortions tomorrow, there are still people who are going to have abortions. You cannot be pro-life if you don't think about people after birth too, and about sick people. If you build up the workforce, you give women access to health care so they can have adequate birth control. You can give them better, livable wages so they don't have to worry about bringing a child into this world and not being able to take care of them.

Source: The New Republic on 2018 West Virginia Senate race May 19, 2017

  • The above quotations are from 2018 West Virginia Senate race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Manchin on Abortion.
Candidates and political leaders on Abortion:

Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Jan 03, 2020