Caitlyn Jenner backs Texas’ internationally reviled abortion ban: ‘That’s their decision’
Caitlyn Jenner in conversation at the Los Angeles Times Ideas Exchange in 2017. (Getty/ Araya Doheny)
Caitlyn Jenner’s campaign hit a new low after she said she backed Texas’ new abortion ban – while also claiming she supports a woman’s right to choose.
Ahead of the California gubernatorial recall election on 14 September, Jenner continued her campaign strategy of saying the worst things possible to score next to no support from voters.
This time, she addressed Texas’ new law to make it illegal for women to terminate pregnancies beyond six weeks, which is well before many women even know they are pregnant.
In an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keiler Tuesday (7 September), the 71-year-old said: “I am for a women’s right to choose. I am also for a state having the ability to make their own laws.
“So, I support Texas in that decision, that’s their decision. But as far as being a women’s right to choose, I don’t see any changes in our laws in California in the future.”
Caitlyn Jenner ‘does not agree’ with Texas law, but state has ‘right to make decision’
When pressed on how she has somehow taken both sides on the Texas law that “essentially outlaws abortion”, Caitlyn Jenner responded: “I think that they have the right in their state to do what they want to do.
“Now do I agree with the decision or not? No. To be honest with you, I actually probably do not agree with the decision.
“But I agree that they have the right to make their own decision.”
California governor Gavin Newsom pictured in Los Angeles on 14 August 2021 (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty)
Texas’ law went into effect earlier this month despite the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, Roe v. Wade. The US Supreme Court has so far refused to hear appeals against the Texas ban.
While other states have passed similar laws on abortion, Texas’ is by far the most restrictive, not even allowing exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
It bars abortions once cardiac activity can be detected in the embryo, a stage that happens extremely early on in pregnancy and occurs because of electrical activity – the valves of the heart have not yet formed.
Caitlyn Jenner is vying to unseat Democratic governor Gavin Newsom in the Republican-driven recall election. She is polling at just one per cent.
If she or another candidate were to somehow win, LGBT+ advocates fear that years of hard-won rights and protections could be under threat.
“Recalling Gavin Newsom – the most pro-equality governor in California history – would be disastrous for the LGBTQ+ community,” Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, told the Los Angeles Blade.
“Everything we’ve fought for – LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, gun safety reform, environmental protections and racial justice – are all on the line.
“There’s too much at stake for our LGBTQ+ community and the diverse communities to which we belong to sit on the sidelines.”
