"What we ought to all be looking for is greater respect for life, in all its examples whether it's unborn children, whether it's mothers in danger, whether it's the elderly," he said.
Pregnancy is a "complex" issue, Asci acknowledged, but rather than justifying abortion, this reality that means a woman in need should receive support from her community.
"The pro-life position would be that all abortion should be removed from the discussion as an option in these stressful situations," he stated. "The sanctity of the life is what should be made very clear to all involved. And then you go forward in doing the best you can with whatever the particulars of the situation are."
Ryan's reversal on the issue was no surprise to Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America. In a February 2015 op-ed for The Hill, she explained why the organization quietly removed Ryan from its advisory board in 2009.
"When Ryan voted in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion, we removed him," she wrote.
"His record by then, quite frankly, was calling to question DFLA's integrity. His idealism had withered. He had begun his Congressional career with a nearly perfect pro-life voting record but by 2009 that had deteriorated."
Ryan also advocated for government expansion for contraception in his op-ed, saying that government has a duty to reduce abortions through expanding access to contraception and "age-appropriate sex education."
Dr. Asci said that too undermines respect for life.
"[Ryan] says 'I wish that all children could come into a situation where they're wanted, and somehow intended'. Well the only way to achieve that is to increase our value that we have for human life itself," Asci stated.
"And contraception erodes that in theory and in practice. It erodes the value that we see in life, and is only going to lead to the propensity to the abortions themselves."