During the debate on Tuesday night, Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz expressed frustration towards moderator Jason Whitely of WFAA for persistently inquiring about his position on abortion in his matchup against Democratic Texas Representative Colin Allred.
Whitely continued to press Cruz on his personal views regarding abortion. In response, Cruz highlighted the contentious nature of the abortion issue and advocated for addressing it through the electoral process, subsequently questioning the moderator’s rationale for his repeated inquiries.
“Texas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States,” Whitely said. “There’s no exception for rape or incest, as you know. In 2021, you co-sponsored a bill in Congress that included those exceptions. But a year later, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, you said that you agree with the Texas law that has zero exceptions. So tonight, the question is, where do you stand on this? And we’re asking for your personal opinion as a Texan and as a father.”
“Well listen, abortion is an issue many Texans and many Americans care deeply about,” Cruz replied. “And it’s an issue people of good faith can disagree. People are genuinely and deeply pro-life. People are genuinely and deeply pro-choice. And there are all sorts of positions in between. I agree with the United States Supreme Court that under our Constitution, the way we resolve questions like that, questions on which we have real and genuine disagreements, it’s at the ballot box, is voting.”
Whitely subsequently sought to redirect the discussion to the original inquiry following Allred’s opportunity to express his views, urging Cruz to provide a clear answer regarding his position on abortion, specifically concerning exceptions for cases of rape and incest.
In response, Cruz shifted the focus to Allred’s legislative history on matters such as parental rights. This prompted Whitely to inquire, “why is this an issue you won’t address, about saying whether you support or oppose exceptions?”
“Jason, I’m curious,” Cruz retorted. “Why do you keep asking me that?”
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