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Beto O’Rourke Backs Abortion until Birth: ‘That’s a Decision for the Woman’


Beto O’Rourke Backs Abortion until Birth: ‘That’s a Decision for the Woman’



Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke this week again endorsed third-trimester abortion up until the moment of birth – and then doubled down on his answer via social media.


Speaking at a campaign event at the College of Charleston Monday, O’Rourke was asked by a person in the crowd, “You were at a town-hall meeting just like this in Cleveland and someone asked you specifically about third-trimester abortions, and you said that’s a decision left up to the mother. I was born Sept. 8, 1989, and I want to know if you think on Sept. 7, 1989, my life had no value.”


Initially, O’Rourke sided with the questioner, who presumably is pro-life. 


“Of course, I don’t think that and, of course, I’m glad that you’re here,” O’Rourke said.


But then O’Rourke said his position on the issue had not changed. 


“You reference my answer in Ohio, and it remains the same,” he said. “This is a decision that neither you, nor I, nor the United States government should be making. That’s a decision for the woman to make. … I don’t question the decisions that a woman makes.”


The Cleveland event in question took place in March when O’Rourke also was asked about late-term abortions.


“Are you for third-trimester abortion?” a woman asked in March. “Are you gonna protect the lives of third-trimester babies? Because there’s really not a medical necessity for abortion. It’s not a medical emergency procedure, because typically third-trimester abortions take up to three days to have, so you would, in that sense, if there was an emergency, the doctors would just do a C-Section, and you don’t have to kill the baby in that [instance].”


O’Rourke said he supported such abortions. 


“The question is about abortion and reproductive rights, and my answer to you is that should be a decision that the woman makes,” O’Rourke said in Cleveland. “… I trust her.”


On Twitter this week, O’Rourke stood by his answer. He even embedded a video of his Charleston answer. 


“No matter how you ask the question, my answer will be the same: The decision of whether or not to get an abortion is one neither I nor the United States government should be making. That’s a decision for the woman to make,” he tweeted.


Related: 


Beto O’Rourke Backs 3rd-Trimester Abortion: ‘I Trust’ the Woman


Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.


Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff





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