The campaign for Adam Laxalt — the Republican nominee for Nevada governor — is pushing back against state Democrats who hammered him over his answer to a question last week that appeared to indicate he'd look into changing Nevada's voter-approved law protecting a right to an abortion, the Associated Press reported.
After a reporter asked Laxalt about the law, he said he would "err on the side of life."
“We're gonna have many months to talk about this," Laxalt replied, according to KOLO-TV video of the interview. "The bottom line is my opponents have been very clear in the last many months, they are incredibly extreme on abortion. We're gonna have plenty of time to have that debate. But you know I'm going to err on the side of life, and I'm somebody that was fortunately brought into this world by that choice. But ... we're gonna look at common sense things..."
The reporter noted that Nevada's right-to-an-abortion law can't be changed without a popular vote.
“We're happy to talk about that in the coming months,” Laxalt replied.
"Are you planning on doing that as governor? Would you propose a referendum for voters to vote on that?" the reporter pressed. "Because that is how it has to change in Nevada."
“We're gonna look into it,” Laxalt repeated.
“Adam Laxalt just erased any possible doubt of his ultimate goal — taking away Nevada women’s right to make their own health care decisions," the Nevada Democratic Party said in a statement, KOLO reported. "Laxalt is so extreme and out of touch that he would undo current law to replace it with his right-wing, anti-choice views. The last thing Nevada women need is a radical in the governor’s mansion, pushing a fringe agenda to strip them of their reproductive rights.”
Laxalt's campaign manager, Kristin Davison, said his words in the interview about Nevada's abortion law were taken out of context, the AP reported.
She added that Laxalt "has zero interest in 'undoing' the 1990 law in question," the outlet added.
Davison also called the state's Democrats "100% wrong" about their claim, tweeting that Laxalt "said he'd look into" the question the reporter "shouted" over a "loud, cheering crowd. He is absolutely NOT looking into undoing & never said he was. He is running on education, economy, & keeping state safe. Nice try, though."
Laxalt's opponent, Democrat Steve Sisolak, has said he doesn't support restrictions on abortion, the AP reported.
The Laxalt campaign also told KOLO that Democrats are trying "to distract from Steve Sisolak’s extreme view that there should be zero limits on abortion and taxpayer funding for abortion providers. We have no interest in his extremist culture war. Adam Laxalt is focused on improving education, creating more prosperity, and protecting Nevada.”
TheBlaze on Tuesday didn't immediately hear back from Laxalt's campaign for further comment on the issue.
Here is a video of Laxalt answering the reporter's question about Nevada's abortion law. The relevant portion begins just after the 1-minute mark:
