Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that Republican Marc Molinaro reiterated his opposition to abortions after 17 weeks in an interview with the newspaper this week. He also said he was “pro-life” but believes the procedure should be “rare, safe, and legal.” Molinaro, the Dutchess County Executive, is running against Josh Riley, a Democrat from the Ithaca area, to be Congressional representative of the new 19th district, which now stretches from the Hudson Valley and Catskills to Tompkins County in western New York. The abortion issue was credited by many for Molinaro's loss to Democrat Pat Ryan in a special election in August for the old 19th Congressional district. Now Molinaro is saying, “I will not support Congress taking action to ban abortion nationwide." Fellow Republican Lindsey Graham, a Senator from South Carolina, has proposed a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks, and Molinaro has not commented on how he would vote on a 15-week ban. Molinaro claims Riley has been intentionally distorting his position on abortion to, “frighten women into thinking that I don’t care deeply. I do,” Molinaro said. “I want us to have a sensitive conversation about what we think the limits (on abortion) ought to be and what the consequences of those decisions are.” Molinaro says of his possible future votes to limit womens' medical conditions that, “I know that we’re not going to necessarily come to an absolute agreement, but I do believe there’s some commonality.... I think there is some common ground.” Voting begins Oct. 29 and ends Nov. 8. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.