Candidates vying to head to Congress for the Fifth District met in Anderson Thursday evening to talk about both national and state policy. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, reproductive rights provoked the most cross talk.
Republican incumbent Victoria Spartz and Democrat Deborah Pickett clashed when discussing the Supreme Court overturning abortion protections. Spartz is a strong supporter of abortion rights falling under state jurisdiction.
“This issue was brought back to the states, to the people, and we’ll have to live with these ideas that we’ll have some conservative states and some liberal states,” Spartz said. “And we don’t have the borders from other states. People always can move to other states.”
Read More: 5th District Rep. Victoria Spartz reverses decision, says she will run for reelection
Pickett responded by advocating for the reinstatement of Roe v Wade, saying that abortion should be a private matter.
“The majority of Americans are actually in favor of an abortion of a woman’s right to make that choice regarding her reproductive rights. It is a decision that most women don’t want to have to face,” she said. “It’s one that is private, and it’s one that should be made with between the woman and their doctor.”
Read More: Judge rejects effort to expand Indiana abortion ban’s serious health exception
During another question, Pickett placed blame on Spartz for Congressional budget resolution issues.
“I would have to blame Victoria Spartz for the fact that they’ve now had two Speakers of the House,” said Pickett. “They could not agree on their leadership. The rules of Congress, which they made up themselves, continue to allow the leadership to have a very high turnover rate.”
Read More: Spartz answers town hall questions about staff treatment and airport gun arrest
Joining Pickett and Spartz on the stage were Libertarian Lauri Shillings and Independent Robby Slaughter. Both candidates focused their answers around growing mistrust between the American people and partisan politicians.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.