Unearthed audio shows Tim Sheehy calling abortion ‘sinful,’ wanting it to ‘end tomorrow’

Montana Republican Senate nominee Tim Sheehy told Republican activists last December he wished for abortion to “end tomorrow” as he called it “sinful” and “a repulsive thing to do,” according to newly unearthed audio.

In an audio clip provided to Heartland Signal, Sheehy expressed his staunch opposition to abortion to attendees at the Flathead County Republican Women’s open house in Kalispell, Mont. on Dec. 18, 2023. He was criticizing the state of California being pro-abortion when he made the specific comments.

“I find abortion to be a terrible, terrible thing. I want it all to end tomorrow,” Sheehy says in the clip. “You know, if California says, you know, ‘We’re going to fund abortions with California tax dollars all day long,’ I think it’s terrible and disgusting. But you know what? If that’s what the California voters want to do with their state? Okay.”

“You know, I think it’s sinful. I think it’s terrible. I think it’s a repulsive thing to do. But, you know, that’s what California decided to do.”

NEW AUDIO: Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy bashes abortion during a Fulton County Republican Women open house last December:

“I think it’s sinful. I think it’s terrible. I think it’s a repulsive thing to do.” pic.twitter.com/uviCnFg8WH

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 29, 2024

The comments are some of the most extreme he’s made on the campaign trail. During a debate in June, he called it “common sense” to oppose “elective abortions, paid for by the taxpayer up until the moment of birth” (late-term abortions are very rare and almost exclusively reserved for preserving the life and/or health of the mother.) He also endorsed exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, and he pledges on his website to fight against proposed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) restrictions. Sheehy also accepted an endorsement from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the largest anti-abortion groups in the country.

Sen. Jon Tester (D), Sheehy’s opponent in the race, endorses the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill to prevent pre-viability abortion bans nationwide — which was common law in the U.S. up until the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision. Responding to Sheehy’s comments, Tester posted on X Friday that “it’s not up to him” on when abortions end and that voters will send that message when casting their ballots.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a 15-week abortion ban into state law last year. Along with Sheehy’s campaign to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D), Montana voters will also vote on an abortion rights constitutional amendment this November to possibly overturn the ban.