Ohio governor, CNN’s Collins square off on abortion: ‘You won’t let me finish!’

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) clashed Tuesday evening over abortion rights in his state.

As DeWine appeared on her prime-time program Tuesday, Collins pressed the governor on the restrictions to women’s reproductive health care that he and Republicans in his state have supported.

“You’re talking about the health of the mother being broadly determined,” Collins said. “That’s a determination made by a doctor who, they have a duty to follow medical science. Do they not?”

“It’s made by the person at the Planned Parenthood clinic, who performs abortion after abortion every single day,” DeWine responded.

“Which is a doctor,” Collins chimed in.

“Just let me finish,” the Republican continued. “That person is making that decision. And they’re the person who — and there’s no, under this, there’s absolutely no appeal. You look at the language in this constitutional amendment. The state may not interfere directly, indirectly, and it goes on and on. And then it has this huge exception for the health of the mother.”

Collins shot back, “this amendment is short,” noting it’s “only about 200 words.”

“It doesn’t say anything about finances, and it also doesn’t say anything about parental consent,” she said before DeWine interjected.

“All I know is what the United States Supreme Court said. And you told me you’ve read the same decision, and you know it’s extremely broad,” the governor said.

“But has that ever happened, where someone got an abortion because they were citing their finances, governor?” Collins interrupted again.

“You won’t let me finish,” DeWine exclaimed. “You will not let me finish. Look, the Supreme Court of the United States has defined this extremely broadly. And so it’s very, very clear that even people who are pro-choice, who are in favor of Issue 1, many of them will admit, yes, this will allow an abortion at any time.”

Voters in Ohio, a largely red state, passed a ballot measure seeking to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution. It was one of several losses Republicans took in Tuesday’s elections that are being widely viewed as a bellwether for the national mood ahead of next year’s elections.