Mehmet Oz must have anticipated the inquiry. Thus, what he said was even more offensive.
During a discussion with Democrat John Fetterman, Oz, the Republican candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate, was challenged about his opinions on abortion rights and if he supported a federal ban on the procedure in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Oz argued that the federal government shouldn’t get involved in the abortion decisions made by the states. “As a doctor, I’ve been present when some contentious discussions have taken place. I absolutely do not want the federal government to get involved in it.
Which, clever! Oz needs to keep things close in the Philadelphia suburbs, where a federal abortion ban is often not a popular idea, in order to win statewide in Pennsylvania.
Oz was unfortunate because he continued talking.
“I want the democracy that has always allowed our nation to prosper to put the greatest ideas forth so states can decide for themselves,” he continued. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders.
Which is, hmm, not ideal.
I’m not exactly sure what Oz was trying to accomplish with this. He began by using rhetoric from the abortion rights movement, stating that a woman and her doctor should decide whether to have an abortion. Then, in a puzzling move, he added “local political leaders” to the list of those involved in the decision-making process.
The most peculiar aspect of the entire phrasing is that, as I mentioned before, Oz had to anticipate the inquiry. Democrats in Pennsylvania and across the nation have invested millions of dollars in television advertisements to draw attention to what they see as the extreme views taken by Republicans on the abortion question. There is no way that Oz could have prepared an answer for the debate without doing so.
If this was his prepared answer, it was unfortunate for him that it was a huge swing and miss. Democrats slammed Oz for being out of touch with women and the profoundly personal decision they make when choosing to have an abortion, and they instantly attacked his idea of “local leaders.”
Mehmet Oz lost this debate by saying that a woman should decide whether to have an abortion in consultation with her doctor and local elected officials, tweeted Democratic strategist and AWN contributor Paul Begala. “He is advancing the main Democratic issue. I’m sure @JohnFetterman is happy.
Wednesday morning, Fetterman unveiled a fresh advertisement that highlights Oz’s remarks against abortion.
It will be interesting to see how voters react to Oz’s remark and if it affects how they view the discussion as a whole.
There is little doubt that during the proceedings, Fetterman—who suffered a stroke in May—struggled greatly to make his case. It was difficult to watch the debate without noticing a candidate having a lot of trouble keeping up, despite the fact that his campaign has emphasised that he is on the road to recovery and that his auditory processing impairments are only temporary.
Will the debate’s main takeaway be that there are questions about Fetterman’s suitability for the position? Alternatively, is it Oz’s egregious error on “local political figures” participating in a conversation with a lady and her doctor about getting an abortion?
Be assured: If Oz’s abortion gaffe hadn’t occurred, Fetterman’s wildly inconsistent performance would have been the only thing to come out of yesterday night’s debate. Now, Oz is generating negative headlines of his own.
