Republican Senate candidates are clarifying abortion positions as Democrats try to brand the GOP as “extremist” pro-life positions, hoping the issue will motivate their base to show up at the polls in November. Tiffany Smiley, the GOP candidate challenging Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in Washington state, released an ad Thursday accusing the incumbent of falsely attacking her pro-abortion position by claiming she wants a national abortion ban. “Patti Murray spent millions to brand me as an extremist. I’m pro-life, but I oppose the federal ban on abortion,” Smiley says in her ad. He goes on to say that “Patti Murray wants to scare you, I want to serve you.” Democrats have pegged abortion as a key midterm issue since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned nearly 50 years of judicial precedent recognizing the constitutional right to abortion. The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by four other justices appointed by Republican presidents, determined that the Constitution and the courts, until Roe v Wade in 1973, did not protect abortion as a fundamental human right. AFTER KANSAS VOTE, DEMOCRATS SAY ABORTION WILL BE DEFINING MID-TERM ISSUE, DEMOCRATS SAY NOT SO FAST In Arizona, Republican candidate Blake Masters also posted a video on social media Thursday in which he says he supports a ban on late-term and partial-birth abortions and accused Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of lying about his views on abortion. abortion. Kelly has sponsored an ad that says Masters “supports a total ban on abortion. Rape. Incest. No exceptions,” the ad says. “Mark Kelly is passing the most extreme abortion laws in the world,” Masters said in Thursday’s video, noting that the Women’s Health Protection Act is “more extreme than western Europe, it’s much more extreme than that that Arizona wants.” FOX NEWS POLL: RECORD 55% APPROVE DARKNESS The only countries with abortion positions similar to Kelly’s, Masters said, are China and North Korea. Smiley “strongly believes that decisions governing abortion belong as close to the voters as possible, which is in the states,” a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital, saying she supports the Hyde Amendment that prevents taxpayer dollars from finance abortions. Murray, on the other hand, has called for an abortion fund to help women get abortions, as well as ending the Hyde Amendment. Colorado Senate SHAKEUP: JOE O’DEA ANSWERS SEN. BENNETT ABORTION ATTACK AD AS DEMO LOSES “The true extremist in this race is Patti Murray, who supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand at any time, even up until birth,” Smiley said. A file photo of Tiffany Smiley, who launched a Republican Senate campaign in Washington State on April 14, 2021. (Tiffany Smiley Campaign) Masters also stated that Kelly supports abortion up until the moment of birth, based on his vote for the Women’s Health Protection Act that ultimately failed. The bill would make it impossible for states to ban abortions at any point in the first or second trimester of pregnancy (before the unborn baby is viable to survive outside the womb) and would prohibit any restrictions on “abortion after the viability of the fetus when in the good faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would endanger the life or health of the pregnant patient.” FOX NEWS POLL: KELLY LEADS MASTERS 8 POINTS IN ARIZONA SENATE RACE Some media accused Masters of backsliding. NBC reported that Masters also changed some language on his website, removing a statement that he was “100% pro-life,” but Masters’ campaign told Fox News that his position on abortion has not changed and that he frequently updates his website. His campaign also referred Fox to an interview Teacher gave with The Arizona Republic, where he said he supported a federal ban on third-trimester abortions, adding that a personhood amendment could help with that. He stated that “I would look at Arizona’s (15-week) law and say I’m fine with it. I think it’s a reasonable solution, which reflects where the electorate is.” Republican senatorial candidate Blake Masters speaks at ‘Save America’ (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Last week, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett released an ad Thursday trying to portray his Republican opponent Joe O’Dea as someone who wants to ban all abortions. However, O’Dea is far more pro-choice than many in his party. “Michael Bennett has always fought for a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, but Joe O’Dea opposes the law protecting abortion access in Colorado,” said one Coloradoan in Bennett’s ad . “O’Dea would have voted to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade,” says another person. “It’s just not true,” O’Dea told Fox News Digital about his ad, reiterating his position that he opposes late-term abortions but believes that early in a pregnancy, a woman’s decision to terminate should “be between her, her doctor, and her God.” She also opposed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned nearly 50 years of legal precedent protecting abortion as a constitutional right. Pro-life activist Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, warned Republican candidates against switching positions for political expediency in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Children deserve strong support, not compromises that cost them their own lives. Our preborn children are living and distinct members of the human family. They are little Americans and they deserve equal protection under the law guaranteed to them by our Constitution. This means ending of the unjust and violent killing of abortion,” Rose said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rose suggested that GOP candidates were stronger on pro-life positions when they were running for the Republican nomination. “The pro-life candidates for office understood this truth during their primary battles, and they cannot afford to alienate their base as we approach the general election. It is not smart politics to mislead or disengage with the base of voters to reach Pro-life candidates must stay true to their word and campaign on the issue of saving human life to ensure that pro-life voters are activated and head to the polls,” said Rose . Thomas Phippen is a contributor at Fox News.
