White House ‘Not Going to Comment’ After Stacey Abrams Suggests Abortion Can Alleviate Inflation

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams arrives for a campaign event as early voting begins in Jonesboro, Ga. on Oct. 18, 2022. Megan Varner/Getty Images

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday refused to comment on Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ suggestion that abortion can help alleviate inflation pressures.

President Joe Biden has endorsed Abrams as the Democrats’ Georgia candidate for governor, but Jean-Pierre would not say when asked if the president agrees with Abrams’ stance.

“I did not see her comments on this, so I don’t know the context of this,” Jean-Pierre said at a White House press briefing.

“Again, I want to be careful because this is a political debate, and it—it’s related to a midterm, an election. So I—this is—I’m not going to comment on that.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Oct. 19, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Abrams has made abortion a key platform in her race for governor. Polls show that the economy and inflation are far bigger concerns for voters, with inflation at record highs not seen for decades.

When asked earlier on Wednesday if Georgians care more about the cost of living pressures caused by inflation, Abrams insisted that abortion is part of the equation.

“But let’s be clear: Having children is why you’re worried about your price for gas. It’s why you’re concerned about how much food costs. For women, this is not a reductive issue,” she told MSNBC on Wednesday morning.

“You can’t divorce being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy from the economic realities of having a child.”

Abrams added that for women “of childbearing age,” having a child “is absolutely an economic issue.”

Abrams Doubles Down After Criticism

Abrams’ primary opponent, the incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, said Abrams “wants abortion without limits to fix Joe Biden’s 40-year high inflation.”

However, he said his plan to address inflation is to suspend the gas tax, send $1 billion “back to taxpayers,” pass a property tax rebate for homeowners, and implement the “largest tax cut in state history.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Abrams’ views were “despicable.”

“I can’t believe this needs to be said, but ending a human life is not the solution for inflation,” he wrote on Twitter.

Following the criticism of her comments, Abrams doubled down and defended her position on Twitter.

“Women forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term are 60 percent less likely to work full-time,” she wrote on the platform.

“So, yes, GOP, it matters if a woman controls how or if she has a family. It matters for gas prices, groceries, housing, the jobs you can get [and] the life you can plan. We know you know it’s true. That’s why lies are your only strategy. For the rest of [us], we’ll keep voting,” she added.