FLASHBACK: Tim Ryan’s Flip-Flop on Abortion

Senate candidate Tim Ryan (D-OH) took to Twitter on Wednesday to reiterate his commitment to legalized abortion, as the Supreme Court begins oral arguments for a landmark case that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

Ironically enough, if we were living between the years of 2002 and 2014, Ryan’s tweet would be out of character. In fact, many may ask if his twitter account was hacked. After more than a decade of running as a pro-life candidate, Ryan flipped his stance on abortion in 2015 in order to appease an increasingly intolerant Democrat base.

The Plain Dealer: “During Ryan’s first term in Congress, he voted for anti-abortion priorities with enough regularity that the National Right to Life Committee said he voted its way 72 percent of the time.”

The Hill: “A key pro-life Democrat in the House predicted on Tuesday a compromise on abortion restrictions in a final healthcare bill. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), the lawmaker who crafted the legislative language during the committee process on health reform, said he expects to strike a deal between his provisions and the more stringent rules on federal funding for abortions offered by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).”

Bottom line: For Tim Ryan, the issue of abortion is less about standing on his own convictions and more about appealing to wherever the party’s activists go.