Paul Ryan said on Monday that when he sponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the language of which called for limiting federally funded abortions to cases of “forcible rape,” that the term, which was later changed, was simply the usage common at the time; “This is language that was stock language used for lots of different bills, bills I didn't author. And that language was removed to be very clear, and I agree with that, removing that language so we are very clear. Rape is rape, period, end of story.”

Ryan is absolutely correct; HR 3, which had much bi-partisan support in Congress, used the same terminology before it was changed.

But Ryan was clear about his opposition to abortion: “Look, all these bills were bills to stop taxpayer financing of abortion. Most Americans agree with us, including pro-choice Americans, that we shouldn't use hard-working taxpayer dollars to finance abortion.”