Ramaswamy Highlights Endorsement From Extreme Group That Opposes All Forms of Contraception

Ramaswamy Highlights Endorsement From Extreme Group That Opposes All Forms of Contraception

New reporting from NBC News reveals that "Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio, a group that not only favors restricting abortion in all cases, but also opposes all forms of contraception," has endorsed Ramaswamy's campaign. The group's leaders said Ramaswamy "assured us that he was totally with us," on their extreme agenda that "opposes abortion at any point of gestation," "opposes abortion for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest" and "cannot support any form of contraception."

Ramaswamy's stance once again puts him at odds with Ohio voters, who by a large bipartisan margin enshrined reproductive freedom into the state constitution in 2023.

"Ohioans have been unequivocal in their support for protecting reproductive freedom, yet Vivek Ramaswamy is marching in lockstep with a fringe group that doesn't just want to ban abortion, including for survivors of rape or incest, but also wants to outlaw contraception entirely," said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy. "Ramaswamy would be all too happy to overturn the will of Ohio voters and then to go even further to attack this fundamental right - it's just one more reason Ohioans know they can't trust him anywhere near the governor's office."

Read more below:

NBC News: Vivek Ramaswamy allies with anti-contraception group in Ohio governors race

• As Ohio's Republican nominee for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy has aligned himself with the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio, a group that not only favors restricting abortion in all cases, but also opposes all forms of contraception.
• The GOP gubernatorial nominee accepted the group's endorsement earlier this year, which RTLACO says is conditioned on a candidate being "in fundamental agreement" with the group's policy document.

• The policy document says RTLACO "opposes abortion at any point of gestation," "opposes abortion for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest" and "cannot support any form of contraception."
• Linda Theis, RTLACO's legislative team chair, told NBC News that the group's leaders "met with Vivek early in the spring last year, a couple of different times."
• "He assured us that he was totally with us. We met with him a second time, and he made sure that he said to us - he verbalized that he was all about protecting life without compromise, which is our main standard, so that was our big thing," she added.
• Ramaswamy's campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether he agrees with RTLACO's position on contraception, but his campaign website does tout RTLACO's endorsement, among others.

• In 2023, Ramaswamy spoke about his anti-abortion position after Ohio voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state's constitution.

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