Sen. Ted Cruz and challenger Colin Allred traded barbs over abortion to start the debate.
DALLAS — The opening question of The Texas Debate was about the two candidates’ stance on abortion, and Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Colin Allred had a fiery exchange.
Cruz said Texans overwhelmingly support parents having to consent before their child can get an abortion, that abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy are too extreme, and that taxpayer money shouldn’t pay for abortions.
But Cruz also said Allred rejects those consensuses and voted in favor of striking down legislation surrounding parental consent and late-term abortions. He called Allred’s stance on abortion “extreme.”
“Abortion is an issue that many Texans and Americans care deeply about,” Cruz said. “I agree with the United States Supreme Court that the way we resolve questions like that is at the ballot box.”
Allred struck back at Cruz, saying he lied about his position on abortion.
Allred alleged that 26,000 women have given birth to their rapist’s child under Texas law.
“When I’m in U.S. Senate, we’ll restore a woman’s right to choose,” Allred said. “We’ll make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again.”
Cruz responded by saying the Texas state legislature makes the abortion laws, not him.
Allred then repeatedly attacked Cruz’s “pro-life” stance on the issue of abortion.
“You’re not pro-life,” Allred said, accusing Cruz of supporting abortion laws that put women’s health at risk.
“When Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours,” Allred said.
Cruz says he believes in democracy and says the state legislatures make the law, and he again took issue with parents not having the right to know if their child is getting an abortion.