Democrats vying for Reichert’s seat: united on abortion, divided on Rossi strategy
All three Democratic contenders --
They opposed parental-consent laws on abortion and efforts to allow pharmacists and other providers to withhold services because of religious objections, and said they'd work to expand access to abortion and reproductive health care.
The only real clashes centered on which Democrat has the best resume to match up against the presumptive Republican nominee, former state Sen.
Although Rossi has lost three statewide races, he is running this year in a district where he's had majority support and faces only little-known
At Wednesday's forum, moderated by
Schrier and Hader, both physicians by training, pointed out there are no female doctors in
"
A pediatrician for 17 years at a
Schrier said that has given her an up-close view of the difficult choices women have to make when it comes to pregnancy. She said she's been alarmed by attacks on abortion rights and even contraception access by conservatives.
"There is frankly no place for government or for someone else's religion in my exam room or any exam room anywhere in this country," she said.
Hader, a former director of global HIV prevention at the
That experience around the world also has shown her what happens in places that outlaw abortion and where women cannot get adequate medical care. "I have seen horrible things," she said, including patients "insides rotting" because of a lack of care. She called Rossi "a smooth talker" and said she'd combat him with "proof points over talking points."
Hader said her biography would bring a perspective lacking on
Rittereiser, who is both a man and a lawyer, said that with few policy differences, the important factor in the race among
He touted a recently leaked independent poll for a Democratic political-action committee that suggests he'd stand the best chance due to an ability to pick up independent voters in the more rural parts of the district. Rittereiser grew up in
A former deputy prosecutor turned employment-law attorney, Rittereiser highlighted a case in which he represented a former professor who sued
"That is exactly how I fashioned my legal career ... in order to protect people who would otherwise be affected by bad policy and bad law," Rittereiser said.
With Wednesday falling on his 34th birthday, Rittereiser said he also could appeal to younger voters in the
Schrier, 49, ribbed Rittereiser's youth when she talked about "waving a hanger" during a 1987 abortion-rights protest against the nomination of
Rittereiser, who would have been around 3 years old at that time, didn't answer.
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