Ohio lawmaker Jean Schmidt, 70, claims rape can be an “opportunity” for teenage victims to become good mothers while pleading for an abortion ban
- Jean Schmidt was arguing for Ohio’s Human Life Protection Act when she made her comments Wednesday
- The law would ban abortion entirely in Ohio if Roe vs Wade is overturned
- Schmidt was confronted with the scenario of young girls becoming pregnant through rape or incestuous rape
- She responded that it would be an “opportunity for that woman, no matter how young or old she is.”
- “What she’s going to do to help this life be a productive person,” she said
- Schmidt was slammed by pro-choice activists and others who said she was a “rape apologist.”
- In 2005, Schmidt called a veteran of the Democratic Vietnam War a “coward.”
- This earned her the nickname “Mean Jean”.
Controversial Ohio lawmaker Jean Schmidt, known as Mean Jean for inflammatory statements in the past, has once again sparked outrage by claiming rape can be an “opportunity” for young victims to become good mothers.
Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, 70, made the remarks Wednesday during a hearing on House Bill 598, also known as the Human Life Protection Act, which would outlaw abortion. The bill makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
When confronted with both of these scenarios, Schmidt said, “It’s a shame it’s happening, but there is an opportunity for this woman, no matter how young or old, to make a decision about what she’s going to do, to help that be a productive person.’
She has been criticized online by pro-choice activists and others who have dubbed her a “rape apologist.”
Ohio-based Planned Parenthood Advocates called the comments “disgusting.”
Schmidt is no stranger to controversy.
In 2005, she called Vietnam War veteran John P. Murtha a coward after he called for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
Schmidt, then a newcomer, claimed to have received a call from a Marine Colonel wanting to deliver a message to Murtha.
‘[He] asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: Cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” she said. It caused an uproar in the House, and Schmidt asked that her remarks be removed from the Congressional record.
The following year, she was accused of posting fake endorsements on her campaign website after some of the people she claimed supported her spoke out to say they didn’t.
In 2016, she was fined by the FEC for accepting free legal services from the Turkish Coalition of America. The commission found she had broken campaign ethics rules by claiming $600,000 in free legal services from the organization.
She has been criticized for her rape comments by some, who have dubbed her a “rape apologist.”
They asked how she would feel if someone in her family was raped.
Schmidt is married to the financial advisor Peter Schmidt. The couple have one adult daughter, Emily.
Schmidt with husband, daughter Emily, son-in-law and grandchildren
Schmidt is a proud Republican who says she was inspired by Richard Nixon. She is shown with George Bush
The lawmaker tells in her bio how she grew up a Democrat and then changed her political views after becoming a fan of President Nixon. She is a proud anti-abortion advocate and advocate for Ohio’s anti-abortion law.
In 2006, Schmidt called Democratic Vietnam War veteran John Murtha a “coward” for proposing a troop withdrawal from Iraq
“The time has come for Ohio to really stand up for the rights of the unborn,” Schmidt said during a committee meeting Wednesday.
“I pray to God every single night and every single morning that we end this carnage of killing innocent lives because I am pro-life.”
The Roe v Wade issue and abortion across America has resurfaced thanks to an ongoing Supreme Court case over Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.
When the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Mississippi statute, it essentially reverses the national right to abortion granted by Roe v Wade and opens up the opportunity for other states to make their own abortion rules, including a total ban.
The Ohio law proposed by Schmidt would be among the strictest, disallowing abortions in rape and incest cases.
Texas and Oklahoma also passed restrictive laws that would prohibit abortions in many cases and criminalize doctors who perform them.
Oklahoma’s rule prohibits all abortions unless deemed medically necessary.
Last year, Texas introduced the Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions in pregnancies in which an embryonic heartbeat can be detected — something that occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy.
Florida recently introduced its own 15-week abortion ban, except in cases where pregnancy would be medically harmful to the mother or baby.
ABORTION LAWS ACROSS AMERICA: 19 STATES ARE READY TO MAKE THEM COMPLETELY ILLEGAL IF ROE V WADE IS TIPPED
ARKANSAS
Arkansas is due to take law in June that would require anyone seeking an abortion to first be shown an ultrasound of the baby and hear an oral description of the baby from a doctor before terminating a pregnancy.
FLORIDA
15-week abortion ban under a law recently signed by Ron De Santis
ALABAMA
20 weeks abortion ban
GEORGIA
20 weeks abortion ban
MISSISSIPPI
15-week abortion ban (Supreme Court case pending)
LOUISIANA
20 weeks abortion ban
INDIANA
20 weeks abortion ban
TEXAS
Six-week “heartbeat” ban (abortions are illegal once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected)
OHIO
20-week abortion ban currently (new bill banning all abortions unless medically necessary
OKLAHOMA
A six-week, Texas-style ban was voted on and sent to the governor for enactment
South Carolina
20 weeks abortion ban
NORTH AND SOUTH AKOTA
20 weeks abortion ban
KENTUCKY
20 weeks abortion ban
WEST VIRGINIA
20 weeks abortion ban
WISCONSIN
20 weeks abortion ban
Wyoming
Abortions are not covered by federally funded Medicaid, and minors must obtain parental consent