WATCH: Dem Candidate Does Stunned Triple-Take At GOP Congressman’s Jaw-Dropping Abortion Comment During Live Debate

Democratic congressional candidate Glenn Wright was visibly stunned when incumbent GOP Rep. John Curtis told voters, during a debate, that “I wish women could make this decision” about abortion.”

Abortion has become a much more central issue since the Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, and has only escalated as more restrictions in states make news, and a  national ban has been proposed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

For example, Arizona passed a 15-week abortion, and on the eve of that ban taking effect, Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson lifted a Roe-era injunction blocking a 19th-century law that dates back to 1864. Similarly, a Wisconsin ban that was enacted in 1849 was triggered into effect by the Dobbs decision.

The issue came up at Thursday night’s live debate for Utah’s 3rd congressional district, which Curtis won in 2020 by a mere 42 points. That’s probably why he felt comfortable saying what he did when the moderator asked for his answer to a Twitter user who asked “When do you feel there is an appropriate limitation on abortion?”

Watch for Wright’s stunned reaction when Curtis says “”I wish women could make this decision”:

Let me first start by saying I’m unapologetically pro-life. Now let’s discuss what the Supreme Court did and didn’t do. The Supreme Court, all they did was said there is no right to an abortion in the Constitution, which then pushed this issue down to the states.

Now, look, I get it. If you’re a woman, it stinks that most of these legislatures are men. Most of these decisions are made by men. I wish it were other than that. I wish, as a man, I didn’t have to make this decision. I wish women could make this decision.

And, that being said, it falls on state legislatures to thoughtfully decide in their state what they want to do. State legislators are responsible to the people in the state. There’s far more accountability on a state level than there is on a federal lever – level. Have you ever tried to get a federal law changed versus a state law? And as we watch this play out across the United States, I think you’re going to see legislatures take different positions. That’s the beauty of states rights. And as a federal legislator, I, quite frankly, believe that’s where it should be.

Wright’s rebuttal was brief.

“I think putting women in jeopardy in a significant portion of our states is not a good idea,” Wright said.

Watch the full exchange above via the Utah Debate Commission.

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