Rep. Mike Levin‘s congressional campaign on Friday accused his Republican opponent Brian Maryott of favoring a full ban on abortion now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
The campaign said the former mayor of San Juan Capistrano has failed to disclose a “radical anti-choice history” that includes statements favoring a ban on all abortions from the moment of conception.
“This extraordinarily fringe position would not only eliminate all abortion, it would outlaw in-vitro fertilization, IUDs and other forms of birth control including Plan B. He would permit no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother,” Levin’s campaign said in a widely circulated press release.
Cited as evidence were answers to local newspaper questionnaires in 2020 and positions listed in the conservative iVoterGuide.com.
Maryott pushed back, saying the Levin campaign was lying, and countering that Levin supports abortion “up until the moment of birth, for any reason.”
”I am aware that millions of Americans had a reaction to the reversal of Roe v. Wade that was immediate and deeply personal. Now, the debate will occur at the state level and California will remain a pro-choice state,” he told Times of San Diego.
“While I’m personally pro-life, I would never support a national ban on abortion or contraception. I have never said that I don’t support exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother — in fact, I do support these exceptions,” he said.
Levin, a two-term Democrat, has said he is a “staunch supporter of a woman’s right to control her own reproductive decisions.”
Levin polled 48.9% to Maryott’s 19.0% in the June primary, and the two will face each other in the November general election to represent the 49th District in north coastal San Diego and south Orange counties.
Updated at 7:20 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022