James Talarico is the Texas Democrat who said God is nonbinary.
At a CNN town hall in Fort Worth, the seminary student tried to lecture Texans on scripture and abortion.
A Catholic professor stood up in the crowd and answered him with one commandment.
Talarico Told a CNN Town Hall the Bible Is Silent on Abortion
On October 14, CNN and Jubilee Media put Talarico in front of 60 Texas voters – 20 Democrats, 20 independents and 20 Republicans.
When abortion came up, the pro-abortion Democrat reached for his seminary credentials.
He told the room "the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion."
Jody Hunt was not having it.
Hunt teaches applied ministry at the University of Dallas, calls herself an orthodox Catholic and admits she votes on one issue.
She told the Senate candidate "the Bible is not silent on abortion," then pointed him to the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not kill."
Talarico answered that the two of them simply reached different conclusions, then called abortion a public health problem.
He even held up Pope Leo XIV as a model of consistent pro-life thinking, though the Catholic Church opposes legal abortion.
Hunt noted that Catholics make up 22 percent of the Texas electorate.
James Talarico's Abortion Record Includes an Amendment Barring Any Texas Limits
In 2025, Talarico authored House Joint Resolution 204, a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution.
It would have forbidden the Legislature from passing any law that restricts "access to abortion or other related health care."
The text includes no viability limit, no late-term cutoff and no point in pregnancy where an unborn child gets protection.
Texas Right to Life calls it exactly what it is – an attempt to write a "right" to abortion into the state constitution.
That amendment was not a one-time slip.
According to Texas Right to Life, Talarico voted against the Texas Heartbeat Act in 2021 and authored bills in 2023 and 2025 to repeal the state's pro-life protections.
He recorded "present, not voting" twice on the 2019 Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which protects babies who survive abortions.
He cast seven votes against more funding for programs that help pregnant mothers choose life, the group reports.
His Texas Right to Life scorecard reads 0 percent in 2019, 5 percent in 2021, 15 percent in 2023 and 0 percent in 2025.
Pelosi Ran the Same Catholic Abortion Play and the Bishops Called It Out
Talarico is not the first Democrat to wrap an abortion record in religious language.
In August 2008, Nancy Pelosi told Meet the Press the Church had never settled when life begins, and Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop William Lori publicly corrected her the next day.
In May 2022, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone barred her from Communion over her support for abortion.
Talarico is running the same play, with a seminary enrollment as the prop.
The difference is that Texas voters get to answer him at the ballot box on November 3.
Ken Paxton Leads Talarico Among Texas Seniors in the Senate Race
National Review describes Talarico's race against pro-life Attorney General Ken Paxton as tight.
Older voters tell a different story.
A Trafalgar Group survey taken October 6-8 found Paxton winning older Texas voters 60.8 percent to 29.8 percent, Mark Tapscott reported in The Washington Stand.
Republican pollster Matt Towery calls it a "Silver Wave" of seniors turning out for Republicans.
Paxton has done more than talk about protecting life – he has gone to court for it.
In December 2024, he sued a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills to a woman in Collin County.
A Collin County court ordered the doctor to pay $100,000 and stop, and when a New York county clerk refused to enforce the judgment, Paxton sued the clerk too.
Talarico Owes Texas Catholic Voters a Straight Answer on Abortion Limits
Talarico wants Texas Catholics to believe his faith and his voting record can live under the same roof.
His amendment says otherwise – it would have stripped every Texas lawmaker of the power to protect a single unborn child at any stage.
A University of Dallas professor quoted one commandment on national television, and the best the seminary student could offer was a line about public health.
Texas seniors are the ones showing up in this race, and Paxton is winning them by 31 points.
Before November 3, James Talarico should look Texas voters in the eye and name one abortion he would vote to stop.
Sources:
- Dave Andrusko, "James Talarico Authored Amendment for 'Right' to Kill Babies in Abortions," LifeNews, October 16, 2026.
- Raleigh Adams, "Talarico Tells Catholic Voter Bible Is 'Silent' on Abortion," National Review, October 15, 2026.
- Jacob Wheeler, "WATCH: Catholic Voter Challenges Talarico to His Face on Abortion," Daily Wire, October 15, 2026.
- Texas Right to Life PAC, "James Talarico's Abortion Record," Texas Right to Life PAC, October 15, 2026.
- Texas Legislature, "H.J.R. No. 204 (Introduced Version)," 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025.
- Fox 7 Austin, "Ken Paxton Sues New York County Clerk Over Abortion Ruling," Fox 7 Austin, July 28, 2025.
- Mark Tapscott, "Turnout Surge among GOP Seniors Could Be Midterm's Biggest Surprise," The Washington Stand, October 15, 2026.
