Tomi Lahren Under Fire After Calling Push To Overturn Roe v Wade 'Huge Mistake'
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren made waves Saturday with her criticism of conservative efforts to overturn the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
“Pressing for a Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would be a huge mistake,” Lahren said in a “Final Thoughts” video for Fox News. “Do we really want to fight for this, alienate Democrats, moderates and libertarians, all to lose in the end anyway? That’s a risk I don’t think is worth taking.”
“I’m saying this as someone who would personally choose life, but also feels it’s not the government’s place to dictate. This isn’t a black and white issue and I would never judge anyone in that position,” she said.
President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to name the person he is nominating to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Some conservatives have argued this nomination should be used to add a justice to the court who supports overturning Roe v. Wade.
Lahren warned that trying to ban abortion would be so unpopular, the GOP would never recover.
“But to use conservatives’ newfound power and pull to challenge a decision that — according to a new Quinnipiac poll — most Americans support, would be a mistake,” Lahren said, noting that that as long as Republicans focus on the economy, taxes, foreign policy and immigration, “That’s how we win.”
Lahren was savaged for her views by conservatives on social media, as well as attacked on the conservative website RedState.
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1015803233531514880
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On RedState, senior contributor Kimberly Ross wrote an op-ed slamming Lahren’s “faux conservativism.”
“Tomi Lahren’s lack of concern for the unborn is as Leftist as it gets,” Ross wrote.
“She says she would ‘personally choose life’ while publically supporting abortion. This, my friends, is a pro-abort Millennial, and many of you are falling for it,” Ross wrote.
“Tomi Lahren’s pro-choice demand that the Right steer away from abortion should be a red flag. This is not conservatism. Don’t fall for it,” she wrote.
My Roe v Wade Final Thoughts: https://t.co/aOMfSiCEcO pic.twitter.com/7GoMYALaDk
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) July 7, 2018
Lahren argued that making Roe the focus fails the test of practicality.
“Even if conservatives decide to go for the Roe v. Wade jugular, it’s unlikely to succeed. Legal tradition makes it harder to overturn a past decision – unless there are strong grounds for doing so,” she said.
“Let’s be honest – the federal government does few things well, and I believe regulating social issues is an area where it fails. Let the churches, the non-profits, and the community groups step in, not almighty Uncle Sam,” she said.
Lahren also said that encouraging women to turn away from abortion is better done with compassion than legislation.
“I believe the way to encourage someone to choose life is to treat her with compassion, understanding and love, not government regulation,” she said.
This is not the first time Lahren has gone against the conservative grain on the subject of abortion. Last year, she was suspended from TheBlaze for comments she made on the ABC show “The View” in support of abortion rights, The Hill reported.
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