Stacey Abrams suggests having an abortion as solution to inflation: 'Economic realities of having a child'

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was criticized on Wednesday after suggesting that having an abortion could be a solution to high inflation and claiming that "having children" is why people are worried about the price of gas and groceries. 

"Right now we are walking away so often from the real issues that people care about. Abortion is an economic issue. It’s been reduced to this idea of a culture war. But for women in Georgia, this is very much a question of whether they’re going to end up in poverty in the next five years because women who are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies end up within poverty — they’re four times more likely to be impoverished in five years," Abrams told the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe." 

MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle pressed Abrams further on how she plans to alleviate concerns voters have over the high cost of groceries and gas. Inflation rose 8.2% in September from last year. 

"But let’s be clear. Having children is why you’re worried about your price for gas, it’s why you’re concerned about how much food costs. For women, this is not a reductive issue. You can’t divorce being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy from the economic realities of having a child. And so these are — it’s important for us to have ‘both and’ conversations. We don’t have the luxury of reducing it or separating them out," Abrams said. 

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX., said Abrams comments were "despicable" and said "ending human life is not a solution for inflation."

A senior writer at the National Review, Dan McLaughlin, said, "I didn't really expect Democrats to go with 'you know, it's cheaper to feed your family if you kill a few of them' as a closing argument, yet here we are."

Abrams also told the MSNBC hosts that women know it is an economic issue. 

"It’s only politicians who see it as simply another cultural conversation. It is a real biological and economic imperative conversation that women need to have," she said. 

Daily Mail Columnist and former host of "The View" Meghan McCain also reacted to Abrams remarks, writing on Twitter: "'Abort your children because we can fix inflation' is a one hell of talking point…"

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Author and associate editor at Commentary Magazine Noah Rothman said he was "almost positive" Abrams' campaign "didn't focus group ‘abort your children to manage the burden of inflation.’"

Emily Jashinsky, a culture editor at The Federalist, also reacted to Abram's comments and said, "it's time to stop letting the babies drive." 

"Democrats' closing message to voters: We want to make sure you can have an abortion because we know you can't afford both a baby and gas right now. What a sick, disgusting, argument," the Republican National Committee's political director, Elliot Echols said. 

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Abrams said at the end of September that there was "no such thing" as a fetal heartbeat at 6-weeks. 

"There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks," Abrams told an audience during an event at Ray Charles Performing Arts Center in Atlanta. "It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman's body."