Republican US Senate candidate Tim Sheehy said he wants abortion ‘all to end tomorrow’
Sheehy also opposes a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in Montana.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy called for abortion “all to end tomorrow” in an unearthed audio clip from 2023.
Sheehy made the comments while speaking at an open house hosted by Fulton County Republican Women in Kalispell on Dec. 18, 2023.
“I find abortion to be a terrible, terrible thing. I want it all to end tomorrow,” Sheehy said at the time.
He continued: “You know, if California says, you know, ‘We’re going to fund abortions with California taxpayer dollars all day long,’ I think it’s terrible and disgusting, but you know what? If that’s what the California voters want to do with their state, OK. You know, I think it’s sinful. I think it’s terrible. I think it’s a repulsive thing to do. But, you know, that’s what California decided to do.”
Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of Bridger Aerospace, is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. The outcome of the race could determine which party would control the Senate. Currently, Democrats hold a slim Senate majority of 51-49.
In a statement, Reproductive Freedom for All said Sheehy’s remarks were “out of step with the vast majority of Montanans who support abortion access and stand in stark contrast to Senator Jon Tester’s long-standing record championing reproductive freedom.”
Sheehy’s campaign website says he is “proudly pro-life.” In January, he received the endorsement of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
“We are proud to endorse Tim Sheehy in his battle to defeat pro-abortion extremist Senator Jon Tester,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president, said in a statement at the time.
In an email to the Montana Independent, Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said Montana voters care about freedom when it comes to their reproductive rights.
“We know that Montana women deserve the freedom to make their own health care choices. But Tim Sheehy wants politicians like himself to have that power instead. Sheehy wants to ban abortion nationwide because he thinks abortion should ‘all end tomorrow,’” Hogan said. “His comments are dangerous and wrong, and Montanans will reject him at the ballot box this November.”
On Aug. 20, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen cleared the path for Constitutional Initiative 128, an abortion rights referendum, to appear on the November ballot. If passed, the measure would enshrine reproductive rights, including the right to abortion care, in the Montana Constitution.
According to the Daily Montanan, Sheehy said of the state ballot measures including the abortion initiative, “Those petitions are not good for Montana.”
Abortion in Montana is currently legal up until the point of fetal viability, or 24 to 26 weeks of gestation.
In a televised debate on June 9, Sheehy falsely accused Tester and Democrats of supporting “elective abortions up to and including the moment of birth.”
Tester responded with strong words.
“For you to say that we’re killing babies at 40 weeks is total BS,” Tester said. “What we’re talking about is who makes the decision. Do you want a politician or a bureaucrat or a judge to make the decision? If you do, vote for him. If you want the woman to make the decision, vote for me.”
