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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed sparked mockery online over his “word salad” response in which he referred to a pregnant woman as “an adult” or “juvenile human” after a pro-life student asked why he should vote for a progressive candidate like him.
El-Sayed, a vocal supporter of codifying Roe v. Wade into law and funding Planned Parenthood, was speaking to students and prospective voters during a “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall at Western Michigan University on Monday.
“I respect your position insofar as it’s founded in the idea that you want to protect and empower life,” El-Sayed said to the student. “The question we have to ask ourselves is, what’s the best way to do that? And whose life gets destroyed in that process?
“Because too often when government says that you cannot have reproductive care, you are creating a circumstance in which an adult, or sometimes even a juvenile human, is being reduced into simply a carrying vehicle for a fetus that has not ever breathed air,” El-Sayed continued.
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Abdul El-Sayed, US Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, speaks during the Michigan Democratic Party’s 2026 nominating convention in Lansing, Michigan, US, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He went on to further emphasize that “the currently existing life of the mother” turns “that person simply into a carrying vehicle for a fetus” when abortion access is taken away.
Conservative critics on social media also quickly weighed in on El-Sayed’s comments, accusing him of using dehumanizing language.
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Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention in Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 29, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
In a post on X, RNC Research, an account managed by the Republican National Committee, wrote, “Abdul El-Sayed won’t even say the word woman while talking about pregnancy.”
“Abdul El-Sayed just said abortion restrictions turn an ‘adult or juvenile human’ into ‘simply a carrying vehicle for a fetus that has not ever breathed air in the world,'” Mark Levin Show producer Rich Sementa also posted on X. “He won’t even say WOMAN. The baby hasn’t ‘breathed air’ so it’s just cargo. This is the Democrat Party in 2026.”
“This might be worse than Kamala’s word salad,” Great Lakes HQ, an account run by the super PAC Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, posted on X.
“So much euphemism and jargon in here that it’s hard to keep track, all in the cause of avoiding saying that women should be able to abort their babies with no restriction,” National Review’s Rich Lowry posted on X.
“Nobody talks like that in real life,” Grabien Media founder Tom Elliott posted on X.
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Former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan and US Senate candidate, during the second day of the Republican Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“And we’re supposed to believe that this guy is a doctor,” Amy Curtis, a writer at Townhall, posted on X.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon accused El-Sayed of trying to change the way people think about motherhood and having children.
“Radicals like Abdul El-Sayed use language that removes the gentle, loving relationship between mothers and their children to achieve their goal of destroying the American family,” Dixon said.
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Ahead of the high-stakes November race that could determine control of the Senate, El-Sayed’s positions on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and gender-affirming care for minors have been thrust into the spotlight. He has also repeatedly rejected the socialist label, describing himself as a capitalist.
El-Sayed will face Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.