Ohio congressman and 2020 presidential candidate Tim Ryan (D.) has expressed support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortion with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or in which the life of the mother is endangered.
In an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC's Live With Stephanie Ruhle, Ryan discussed his plan for achieving his reproductive policy goals.
"We've got to start winning elections, Stephanie," Ryan said. "I mean, we're losing elections in these states. Of course we've got to fund Planned Parenthood, we've got to get rid of the Hyde Amendment, we've got to make sure we invest into women's health care. But the reality is we've got to win elections... We now have the federal courts peppered with conservative pro-life justices. The Supreme Court is a conservative pro-life court. We've got to start moving in the right direction here politically and getting elected so that we appoint the judges and we win elections in these states."
Ryan's views on abortion have shifted over the course of his political career. In an op-ed for the Akron Beacon Journal, Ryan described his transformation from a young, pro-life Ohio state senator to a member of Congress that now embraces the pro-choice position on the abortion debate.
It appears that opposition to the amendment has emerged as a litmus test for Democrats who seek to prove their commitment to the pro-choice platform. Ryan joins several other Democratic candidates that have included repeal of the Hyde Amendment within their platforms.
Earlier this month, former vice president Joe Biden told an ACLU activist that he now supports repeal of the amendment. This week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), in an appearance on CNN Right Now, promised to "work to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which makes it impossible for low-income women to get access to reproductive care, including abortion services."