In a meeting of the Wisconsin State Assembly, Rep. Ron Tusler (R) spoke at length in reply to a fellow lawmaker — Rep. Christine Sinicki (D) — who reportedly raised a concern that the current anti-abortion platform of the modern Republican Party has no basis in the Bible.
Tusler, attempting to align the GOP’s anti-abortion stance with important biblical precedent, answers the Sinicki’s charge on the Assembly floor in a video (below) captured by Heartland Signal, a Midwest reporting outfit covering legislative activity.
Tusler first cautions his colleague to “never let her Bible get dusty” — implying that if she had a dust-free Bible, she wouldn’t need his help to find the obvious examples where “God forced a woman to have baby contrary to her personal health.”
The Assemblyman asserts that he knows of “at least three” women in the Bible “that certainly would qualify.”
Wisconsin State Rep. Ron Tusler (R) appears to endorse forced birth regardless of health considerations by citing the Bible:
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) January 25, 2024
"For example, Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. Estimates are she was 88 years old when she was told she was going to have John the Baptist." pic.twitter.com/ZJeFTYsBJy
Tusler then cites the Biblical tale of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, saying “estimates are she was 88 years old when she was told that she was going to have John the Baptist.”
(Presumably to cover for any accusation that he is fudging the truth, Tusler concedes that Elizabeth’s age during pregnancy may not be exact, but “other estimates I’ve heard,” he says, “are at least over 60.”)
The news of her pregnancy was so startling, Tusler says, that John’s father “laughed at an angel” telling him the news. Tusler isn’t laughing — and does not seem to be joking — when he says “certainly an 88-year-old, it’s contrary to her health, to be having a baby.” But, he says: “here she is…being asked by God and being required to do that.”
Tusler adds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was only 13 to 14 years old in the Bible when she became pregnant — “certainly against her personal health,” Tusler concedes.
Seemingly exasperated that anyone would need yet another example of God forcing a woman to have a baby despite the risks to her personal health, Tusler perseveres and cites Sarah, “from the Old Testament” who was “roughly 90 years old…Again, 90 years old, elderly lady, certainly contrary to her personal health.”
The 39-year-old Tusler is an attorney with his own practice. He and his wife have two children, according to his official biography.
