Washington ( CNN ) Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan fully reversed his anti-abortion position and came out as pro-choice in an op-ed published on Tuesday . `` I have come a long way since being a single , 26-year-old state senator , and I am not afraid to say that my position has evolved as my experiences have broadened , deepened and become more personal , '' Ryan wrote in the Akron Beacon Journal . `` I have come to believe that we must trust women and families — not politicians — to make the best decision for their lives , '' he said . After running for Congress on a pro-life platform in 2002 and initially voting with Republicans on the issue , Ryan , who is Catholic , has shifted leftward on abortion . In recent years , he 's drawn criticism from pro-life activists that once supported him for voting to protect public funding for Planned Parenthood and access to contraception . Ryan wrote in the op-ed that his shift was inspired by conversations with women during his political career , but the move also puts him in a better position politically as he contemplates a potential 2016 challenge to Sen . Rob Portman , a Republican . Ryan told Roll Call that `` we 're certainly looking very closely at '' a Senate run . And while he 's won re-election to his heavily Democratic district with comfortable margins nearly every cycle since 2002 , Ryan 's pro-life stance could have been an obstacle for him in a Democratic Senate primary in the swing state . Indeed , Portman himself has shifted on a key social issue since he was elected in 2010 with Tea Party support . He came out in favor of gay marriage in 2013 , also in a newspaper op-ed , citing his experience with his gay son as partial inspiration for the shift . RELATED : Which GOP hopeful is the most like Reagan ? Ryan , however , dismissed speculation that his change of heart was politically motivated . `` I realize that people can be cynical about politics and think this is something tied to a Senate aspiration , '' Ryan told the Plain Dealer . `` The reality is , this is just where my heart is right now . I want to be clear about that . I would be abandoning my own conscience and my own judgment if I somehow led people to believe I was supporting a position I no longer thought was the appropriate position to have . ''
Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan came out as pro - choice in an op - ed published on Tuesday . After running on an anti - abortion platform in 2002 , he 's shifted leftward over the years . He said that his shift was in preparation for a potential Senate bid .