Ohio GOP House candidate backtracks on prior support for federal abortion ban

• Orlando Sonza, a Republican running in an Ohio swing district, once backed a federal abortion ban.
• He also backed legislation to ban the "killing of human embryos," which could threaten IVF.

Late last month, Rep. Greg Landsman — an Ohio Democrat who defeated an incumbent Republican in 2022 — declared in a tweet that his GOP opponent supported a federal abortion ban.

"More scare tactics and lies from my opponent," replied Orlando Sonza, a US Army veteran and local prosecutor who's all but certain to be the GOP nominee in Ohio's 1st congressional district.

Yet the attack had some merit.

When Sonza ran for a state senate seat in Cincinnati two years ago, he indicated support for a federal abortion ban — and he suggested that same-sex marriage shouldn't be the law of the land.

In a spring 2022 questionnaire from the anti-abortion group Cincinnati Right to Life, Sonza responded "YES" to the question: "Do you support federal and state legislation to ban abortion-on-demand from fertilization to birth?"

He did not reply with "YX" — a response that would have indicated his support for some exceptions to an abortion ban.

Sonza also said he would support legislation "prohibiting the killing of human embryos" — a position that could threaten in vitro fertilization (IVF), given that some fertilized embryos may be discarded during those treatments.

Sonza indicated that he believed that "the union of one man and one woman" is the "only definition of marriage that should be legally recognized at all levels of government."

The survey was completed before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. That decision, which removed the constitutional right to an abortion, spurred state-level abortion bans — and a massive backlash to anti-abortion policies — nationwide.

Ohio was a key battleground for abortion in 2023. Republicans in the state tried to head off a pro-abortion rights campaign by holding a separate referendum making it harder to add constitutional amendments.

That effort was roundly defeated in August 2023, and a strong majority of Ohioans voted for the "Issue One" campaign to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution in November — an effort that Sonza opposed at the time.

In a statement to Business Insider on Wednesday, Sonza indicated that both the Supreme Court decision and the Issue One campaign had led him to soften his position — and he reiterated his stated support for IVF.

"The Supreme Court decided abortion is a state's rights issue and Ohio voters made their position known with the rejection of Issue 1 just a few months ago," said Sonza. "I remain pro-life and pro-family which is why I proudly support IVF access. We need to promote policies that help create Ohio families."

He also accused Landsman of supporting abortion "up until the moment of birth," apparently referring to the congressman's support for the Women's Health Protection Act. That bill, designed to ensure abortion rights nationwide, precludes states from enacting temporal limits on abortion.

Sonza did not address his apparent opposition to same-sex marriage. Most House and Senate Republicans opposed a 2022 law that strengthens protections for same-sex and interracial marriage at the federal level.

Sonza is just the latest Republican to soften their positions on abortion and reproductive health issues in recent years.

After the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that threatened access to IVF in the state, Republicans have moved to affirmatively declare their support for the procedure.

Democrats have generally greeted such reversals or clarifications from Republicans with a skeptical eye, suggesting they're concealing their true positions for electoral gain.