Ryan Mackenzie scrubs anti-abortion language from website in race against Susan Wild

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie is the latest Republican who has been caught scrubbing their anti-abortion views from their campaign websites.

Republicans are eyeing Democratic Congresswoman Susan Wild’s Lehigh Valley seat with the hopes of expanding their slim majority in the US House, but that may have gotten a bit more difficult after State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh), Wild’s challenger, was caught deleting his anti-abortion record from his campaign website. 

According to the Wayback Machine, an internet archive, as recently as May of this year, Mackenzie’s website highlighted his record as a representative in the Pennsylvania House and promoted his “100% pro-life voting record from the Pro-Life Federation.”

That section has since been completely scrubbed from the campaign website. 

While Mackenzie has tried to erase his views from his site, he’s left behind a long paper trail documenting his anti-abortion views. 

Mackenzie publicly promoted his anti-abortion record following the leaked draft of the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade in May 2022, as well as his vote for a constitutional amendment banning abortion a couple of months later.

“During my time in office, I have a solid pro-life voting record and I have always been endorsed by the PA Pro-Life Federation,” Mackenzie told The Morning Call at the time.

“To date, we have voted on changes I support such as shortening the time period where a woman can have an abortion from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. I have also advocated against, and will continue to advocate against, public dollars being used for abortions.”

The PA Pro-Life Federation is a state affiliate of the National Right to Life organization and they both banning abortions and oppose protections for in-vitro fertilization. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mackenzie’s campaign denied that he had a perfect record from the PA-Pro-Life Federation. 

“Rep. Ryan Mackenzie does not have a 100% rating from the PA Pro-Life Federation due to his vote on HB1786 (23-24), so it would be factually inaccurate to list that on our website or for anyone to use that incorrect information,” a spokesperson for Mackenzie’s campaign wrote in an email.

It is true that Mackenzie voted in favor of House Bill 1786, a bill that sought to prevent officials in other states from targeting patients seeking abortions in Pennsylvania, but bill was voted on in November of 2023, and his own website still touted his “100% pro-life voting record from the Pro-Life Federation” nearly six months later.

The spokesperson also said that Mackenzie had “spoken out against a federal ban on abortion and will protect exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.” However, he also voted for a 20-week abortion ban in 2016 and 2017 that excluded protections for rape and incest, and voted for a telemedicine bill in 2019 that would have restricted access to abortion medications.  

The spokesperson also stated that Mackenzie has “also voted in support of IVF, making sure that contraceptives are covered by insurance, and authored a law improving maternal healthcare in Pennsylvania.” 

With Democrats controlling the Pennsylvania House, Mackenzie voted in favor of a series of non-binding resolutions earlier this year recognizing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and voted in favor of legislation that would require birth control to be covered by insurance providers. In previous sessions, Mackenzie has supported resolutions for improving maternal health.

However, his broader record of supporting abortion bans and restrictions – especially when compared to Wild’s –  is what voters should pay attention to, according to Wild for Congress spokesperson Natalie Gould. 

“The contrast between the two couldn’t be more clear: Susan Wild will defend your rights, Ryan Mackenzie will roll them back — and then lie about it,” Gould said in a statement. 

“Not only has Mackenzie voted for abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest, but he’s funded by the same anti-abortion extremists who want to jeopardize IVF and ban birth control. There’s no doubt that Pennsylvanians will reject his anti-choice agenda in November, as he continues his dangerous trend of deceiving women.”

Correction: A previous version of this story said the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation opposes birth control. This story has been updated to reflect that the organization does not take a stand on birth control.