Beto O'Rourke Seemingly Endorses Late-Term Abortions

Published: 3/19/2019, 10:57:58 AM EDT

Beto O'Rourke Seemingly Endorses Late-Term Abortions — Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks to local residents during a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on March 15, 2019. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke appeared to endorse late-term abortions during a campaign stop.

O'Rourke, a former Congressman who lost his challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018, has been touring the country since recently announcing his bid for the nation's highest office.

A woman at a campaign event in Cleveland described medical alternatives to late-term abortions, characterized as the 28th week of pregnancy or later. Unborn babies at that time can typically survive outside the womb. The woman also noted that a number of experts believe such late abortions are not medically necessary.

"Are you for third-trimester abortions?" she asked O'Rourke. "Are you going to protect the lives of third-trimester babies? ... Are you for or against third-trimester abortions?"

O'Rourke pivoted from the crux of the question, responding: "The question is about abortion and reproductive rights. And, my answer to you is, that should be a decision the woman makes. I trust her."

His answer was applauded and he moved on to another topic.

Alexandra Desanctis, a writer at National Review, a conservative outlet, said that O'Rourke's answer was deceptive.

“Notice how Beto takes an articulate question about abortion *after fetal viability* and the medical details of these procedures and restates it to the crowd as a question about 'abortion and reproductive rights,'” DeSanctis said in a post on Twitter. “That’s what they have to do to defend third-trimester abortion."

O'Rourke while in office in 2017 co-sponsored the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill that, if it had passed, would have eliminated most state restrictions on abortion. That same year, he voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have banned abortions nationwide after 20 weeks post-fertilization. He also voted against two bills in 2015 that sought to provide protection for unborn babies.

Polls show that most Americans believe late-term abortions should be illegal but none of the current Democratic presidential candidates have said they're in favor of any restrictions on abortion, signaling one issue that party leaders have moved further left than the party's core.

In February, the Senators who are also running for president on the Democratic ticket voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have mandated doctors give the same treatment to babies that survived abortion that they give to babies that are born normally.

Democrats faced an outcry earlier in the year after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam indicated his support for, in some cases, killing babies that were already born.

President Donald Trump, who has been vocally pro-life, has hammered Democrats over abortion, addressing Northam's comments during his State of the Union speech.

After Democrats voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, Trump said on Twitter: "This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress."