Ryan switches from pro-life to pro-choice

YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan has changed his views on abortion, switching from pro-life to pro-choice.

In a column in today’s Akron Beacon Journal, Ryan of Howland, D-13th, wrote: “Today, I am a 41-year-old father and husband whose feelings on this issue have changed. I have come a long way since being a single, 26-year-old state senator, and I am not afraid to say that my position has evolved as my experiences have broadened, deepened and become more personal. And while I have deep respect for people on both sides of this conversation, I would be abandoning my own conscience and judgment if I held a position that I no longer believed appropriate.”

When Ryan successfully ran for the state Senate in 2000 and for the U.S. House in 2002, he said he was pro-life. He received the Ohio Right to Life endorsement in 2002, but the organization dropped him to the “preferred” candidate in the 2006 election, and the group hasn’t endorsed him since.

Democrats for Life of America removed him in 2009 from its national advisory board. Officials said at the time that Ryan abandoned the cause. Ryan said pro-life groups refused to accept contraceptives as an option to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

In today’s column, Ryan wrote during his 14 years in political office, “I have gained a deeper understanding of the complexities and emotions that accompany the difficult decisions that women and families make when confronted with” situations to end a pregnancy.

For the complete story, read Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com