Paul Ryan On Abortion: 'We Want A Country Where It Isn't Even Considered'

By KEN THOMAS 04/11/13 10:06 PM ET EDT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012 and an abortion opponent, said Thursday that anti-abortion activists should try to build a broad coalition and find common ground with supporters of abortion rights as a way to advance their agenda.

Ryan, R-Wis., said in a speech to the Susan B. Anthony List that those who oppose abortion "need to work with people who consider themselves pro-choice – because our task isn't to purge our ranks. It's to grow them."

"We don't want a country where abortion is simply outlawed. We want a country where it isn't even considered," he said.

Ryan told the organization that seeks to elect women who oppose abortion rights that "labels can be misleading." He pointed to former GOP Sen. Scott Brown, whose 2010 election in Massachusetts nearly derailed President Barack Obama's health care law. Brown supports abortion rights. In contrast, Ryan told the group that former Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, who opposed abortion, "delivered the votes that passed it into law."

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