GOP congressional candidate refuses to say how he feels about abortion

Despite abortion’s prominence as a national political issue, one Chicago-area congressional candidate refuses to share his personal opinion on the topic.

Saying states — not the federal government — should regulate abortion, Republican Seth Cohen, a Chicagoan running for the 9th District seat held by Evanston Democrat Jan Schakowsky, told the Daily Herald his thoughts on abortion are irrelevant, just as his favorite color or food are irrelevant.

“I just reject the question,” he said during a one-hour, joint interview with Schakowsky. “It just has nothing to do with what I would do as a congressman.”

Cohen’s opponent has made no secret of her support for women being able to make their own reproductive decisions.

“Imagine — we’re going to have state legislators now telling you what you can do with your body?” Schakowsky said.

Cohen and Schakowsky discussed abortion, the economy, gun control and more during the interview, which was conducted over Zoom.

The battle over abortion intensified in 2022 when the Supreme Court — with its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization — rescinded federal protections that had been in place for decades. Individual states now can decide whether abortion should be legal, and many have banned or severely restricted it.

Cohen and Schakowsky were asked where they stand on abortion, the prospect of a national ban and the possibility of codifying the rights once guaranteed by the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Cohen, an executive with a nonprofit organization called Chicago Brigade, acknowledged abortion is a top issue in the U.S. and said it’s “really pertinent for Congress to be talking about it.” But he said it’s not a federal issue.

“It’s nowhere to be found in the Constitution,” Cohen said. “This is a state issue.”

When reminded that some Republicans have called for a federal ban and asked how he’d vote on such legislation, Cohen said he’d vote no.

Asked for his personal beliefs, Cohen insisted he wasn’t afraid to answer the question but wouldn’t share his stance.

“This is about policy, not about personal belief,” he said.

Abortion has been a source of friction in Congress. For example, lawmakers long have disagreed on whether organizations that provide abortion services should receive federal funding.

Schakowsky, who has represented the 9th District since 1999, said abortion is the most powerful issue in the country.

A proponent of federal legislation to protect abortion services, she lamented that the Dobbs decision diminished Americans’ rights and has resulted in women’s deaths because it reduced access to abortion care. It’s also caused doctors to worry about being jailed or losing their medical licenses if they perform abortions, she said.

Schakowsky voiced concern about states potentially trying to monitor women’s menstrual cycles or forcing women trying to leave a state to prove they’re not doing so to have abortions.

“It’s more than harassment,” she said. “It’s really taking away a fundamental right.”

Schakowsky called the states’ rights argument Cohen and other Republicans have made “outrageous.” Cohen’s pledge to oppose a federal abortion ban is “not good enough,” she said.

The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

The last day to vote is Nov. 5.