Every visibly pregnant woman must hate abortion, right? Perhaps that’s the conclusion a spokeswoman for Senate candidate Roy Moore (R-Ala.) came to when she decided to discuss her anti-abortion beliefs while congratulating a pregnant anchor on live TV.
Moore’s campaign spokeswoman Janet Porter was on CNN’s New Day last week, chatting with CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, who publicly announced her pregnancy this fall. At first blush, it makes sense that a campaign representative would send kind words to Harlow over the announcement. Except Porter decided to use the opportunity to stump for Roy Moore’s anti-abortion beliefs, going so far as to reference Harlow’s unborn child.
“By the way, congratulations on your unborn child,” Porter began during the segment. “That’s the reason why I came down as a volunteer to speak for Judge Roy Moore, ‘cause he’ll stand for the rights of babies like yours in the womb, where his opponent will support killing them up until the moment of birth.”
Originally, Harlow thanked Porter for her regards and attempted to shift the conversation back to Moore’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate. But Porter brought up Harlow’s child once again while discussing abortion, this time crossing a line.
“Judge Roy Moore stands for protection, not only of our Second Amendment rights, so we can protect ourselves against predators, [but] for the rights of babies like your eight-month baby that you’re carrying now,” Porter told Harlow during the discussion segment. “Doug Jones says you can take the life of that baby, and we should pay for it, even from Planned Parenthood, who wants to sell [the organs].”
To which Harlow responded, “Let’s leave my child out of this.”
Porter quickly went viral after the entire incident, and Twitter users soon found that the campaign’s spokeswoman has said some other insensitive things. For one, she believes being gay is a lifestyle decision, which is ridiculously homophobic. She also has a knack for posting some pretty bigoted posts on Facebook.
Was looking through the Facebook of Roy Moore's spokeswoman, Janet Porter, and she shared this last year… https://t.co/9bY1JBLMjK pic.twitter.com/Bzpv5zlpvw
— Rebecca Shabad (@RebeccaShabad) December 7, 2017
Someone just pointed out this post from Roy Moore's spokeswoman, Janet Porter, on her Facebook page from 2012 in which she intentionally misled voters, telling them Election Day was on a Wednesday… https://t.co/v73zJxoFvO
— Rebecca Shabad (@RebeccaShabad) December 8, 2017
Even Ohio Right to Life hates her.
— dirtgirl 🌱 (@aka_dirtgirl) December 7, 2017
Some say Porter’s bait-and-switch debate is just a typical GOP tactic. She’s unconcerned with civility and cares more about her own personal beliefs than finding common ground with her opponents. In short, she’s the perfect candidate to represent an accused child molester.
Janet Porter is the voice of the GOP.
— Like It Is Teller (@roarofawave) December 7, 2017
A perfect representative for a party that won't answer your questions honestly and just confuse the issues with a bunch of bible thumping nonsense to attract delusional evangelicals
Seriously Janet Porter is the biggest f****** lunatic next to Donald Trump in this country the Republicans have jumped the shark. Pedophilia and sexual assault had become a norm in that party
— Crush68 (@crush68) December 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/USInGodWeTrust/status/938348625700073472
Moore’s election against Democratic candidate Doug Jones is set for Dec. 12. Of course, Jones found himself in a separate controversy recently over tone-deaf flyers that upset Black voters throughout Alabama. It remains unclear who will win the election, as both candidates remain close in the polls.