MEMORY LANE: Derrick Van Orden’s Extreme Position on Abortion
MADISON, Wis. — Derrick Van Orden has long taken an extreme stand on reproductive freedom, including saying that women should “have enough strength of character” to give birth and calling for a 15-week abortion ban. When Roe v. Wade was overturned by Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices, Wisconsin women were forced to flee to other states for abortion care and suffer non-viable pregnancies—including those from rape and incest—under Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban. Derrick Van Orden saw no problem with this, saying, “You can’t heal that evil [sexual assault] by adding more on it.”
Derrick Van Orden is too extreme for Wisconsin women. He’s a far-right anti-abortion extremist who supports a restrictive Wisconsin abortion ban that has no place representing western Wisconsin.
Here’s a Reminder of Derrick Van Orden’s Extreme Position on Abortion:
- Derrick Van Orden previously called rape and incest exceptions “evil.”
- Van Orden said that he is “ardently pro-life,” called for women to “have enough strength of character” to give birth, and opposed rape and incest exceptions during a radio interview with “WSAU Feedback” in 2020.
- “You can’t heal that evil [sexual assault] by adding more on it,” Van Orden said.
- “You can’t heal that evil [sexual assault] by adding more on it,” Van Orden said.
- Derrick Van Orden said he is “unreservedly, unabashedly, and proudly pro life” and opposes abortion because “life begins at conception.”
- Derrick Van Orden was endorsed by leading anti-abortion group Wisconsin Right to Life.
- Derrick Van Orden called for Wisconsin lawmakers to enact a 15-week abortion ban.
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