Oz, Laxalt 'Buried Heads in Sand' on Abortion Issue: Anti-Abortion Activist

The president of a national anti-abortion organization wrote Monday that Republican Senate candidates who did not lean into the abortion issue had only themselves to blame for losing.

The Democrats' success in last Tuesday's midterms was not due to most voters being "pro-abortion," argued Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a Fox News op-ed.

"For Democrats who spent millions casting their opponents as heartless villains who don't care if women die, and were met with silence or a weak response, lying worked," she wrote. "But for those whose Republican opponents not only strongly refuted them, but also went on offense and challenged them to defend their actual agenda, pro-abortion extremism became a liability."

She alluded to "reasonable adults" in the Republican Party who were successful, such as incumbent Florida Senator Marco Rubio, North Carolina Senator-elect Ted Budd and Ohio Senator-elect J.D. Vance.

"Republicans who weren't prepared were susceptible to bad advice," she continued. "They did their best imitation of an ostrich—burying their heads in the sand, letting their opponents define them. Dr. [Mehmet] Oz's loss in Pennsylvania and Adam Laxalt's in Nevada are two disappointing examples."

CNN exit polls found that 88 percent of Fetterman supporters thought abortion should be "legal in all cases." The same number of Oz supporters said it should be "illegal in most cases."

Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson, who campaigned for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the state was critical "on so many different levels for protecting access."

"This is the first time [since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision] that Pennsylvanians have to actually express their outrage, their frustration, their betrayal," Johnson said.

Oz waffled during his campaign on his abortion views.

During an interview with Fox News in December 2021, the GOP candidate said he was "pro-life" but for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to protect the mother's life. He said he believed life begins "when you're in the mother's womb."

When asked how long he believed abortions should occur while in the womb, Oz said "it's a rathole to get trapped in the different ways to talk about it."

About 10 months later during his lone debate with Fetterman, Oz said he did not want the "federal government" involved in abortions. He then alluded to "local politicians" helping doctors and mothers make abortion-related decisions, which drew ire from many.

In Nevada, Laxalt was primarily focused on "surging inflation, rising violent crime, the effects of an open border, and record-high gas prices," his spokesperson told Newsweek during his campaign.

When it came to abortion, CNN exit polls found that 94 percent of his supporters thought abortion should be "illegal in most cases." That compared to 84 percent of supporters of successful incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto who said it should be "legal in all cases."

In NBC News exit polls from the Nevada Senate race, voters pointed to inflation and then abortion as the top two issues. An adviser for Cortez Masto told NBC News that their internal polling data showed that a significant number of Nevadans were unaware of Laxalt's abortion stance—perceived by the Democrat's campaign as a vulnerability that would aid her.

On November 9, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and its partner Women Speak Out PAC announced that they will spend at least $1 million in the Georgia Senate runoff election on behalf of Republican Herschel Walker. The organization did not mention allegations surrounding past abortions made against Walker.

Newsweek reached out to the organization for comment.