'It’s a very painful experience,' Speier said. Pol who needed abortion rips Walsh

Rep. Joe Walsh’s claim that abortions are never necessary to save the life of the mother “showed absolute ignorance about science and medicine,” according to a California Democrat who once spoke of her own needed abortion on the House floor.

Rep. Jackie Speier, who appeared on the House floor in 2011 to talk about an abortion she needed to save her life, told POLITICO on Friday that Walsh didn’t understand “how painful it is on a physiological and emotional level” to have a second-trimester abortion.


“He shows absolute ignorance about science and medicine,” Speier said in a phone interview about the Illinois Republican. “You can talk to any OB-GYN and they can identify cases in their practice where a second-trimester abortion was necessary because of imminent septic shock or maternal death.”

“Second-trimester abortions occur when there is something fundamentally wrong with the fetus,” she added. “These are wanted children. It’s a very painful experience.”

Walsh, speaking Thursday after debating his Democratic opponent, told reporters “with modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance” of abortion being necessary to save the mother’s life. “As far as health of the mother, same thing,” he added. Experts, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said Walsh was wrong. More than 600 women die each year from pregnancy and childbirth-related reasons, according to the group.

Walsh largely stood by his comments that touched off an uproar during a Friday afternoon press conference.

“When it comes to having an abortion to save the life of the mother, I will say again that outside of the very rare circumstances, such as ectopic pregnancies, during which both the mother and baby will die if the baby is not aborted, and other rare health issues and circumstances, the research is pretty clear that with the advances in modern medicine an invasive and traumatic procedure like abortion is often, thankfully, not necessary to save the life of a mother,” he said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Walsh’s comments were immediately likened to remarks made by Rep. Todd Akin earlier this year. The Missouri Republican falsely said pregnancy rarely resulted from “legitimate rape” and argued a rape exception to an abortion ban wasn’t necessary. Akin’s comments were widely mocked and have damaged his chances of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate.

“I don’t know what these Republican congressmen drink that make them experts on women’s reproductive health,” Speier said.

The California Democrat said she didn’t know how many other members of the House Republican Conference privately held similar views to Akin and Walsh, but was confident most Americans realize abortions can be necessary to save the life of the mother. Fifty-two percent of Americans believe abortion should legal under at least some circumstances, according to a Gallup Poll conducted in May.

Walsh is in a competitive race with Tammy Duckworth in a district covering the northern suburbs of Chicago. A poll released Friday by the League of Conservation Voters found Duckworth leading Walsh, 54 percent to 39 percent.

Asked if she would like to see Walsh apologize, Speier retorted: “I’d like to see Congressman Walsh defeated. But it seems like he’s doing a good enough job of that on his own.”

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Jackie Speier