Beto O 'Rourke apparently approves third trimester abortions: "This should be a woman's decision"

Beto O 'Rourke, hopeful at the White House, apparently endorsed the practice of third trimester abortions during an election campaign in Ohio on Monday, less than a month after the blockade of the Senate by a bill requiring doctors to provide medical care to infants in a swirling infanticide controversy in Virginia.

The third trimester extends from the 28th week of pregnancy to birth, and polls consistently show that nearly 80% of Americans oppose such late abortions.

"Are you for third trimester abortions?" A campaign participant in Cleveland asked O & # Rourke before describing the medical alternatives to such a procedure and challenging the medical necessity of late abortions. "Are you going to protect the lives of third-trimester babies? … Are you for or against third-trimester abortions?"

O & # 39; Rourke responded: "The question is about abortion and reproductive rights, and my answer is that it should be a woman's decision, I trust her."

He then quickly responded to another question under sustained applause.

Fox News joined O 's Rourke campaign to confirm its position on third trimester abortions, but received no response.

Alexandra Desanctis, editor of the National Review, a curator, described O 'Rourke's remarks as a cynical "sleight of hand".

"Note that Beto asks a specific question about abortion * after fetal viability * and the medical details of these procedures and repeats to the crowd in the form of a question about" abortion and reproductive rights, "tweeted DeSanctis. "That's what they have to do to defend the third trimester abortion."

ROLLY ROLLOUT DE BETO: A LOT OF CROWDS AND CASH, BUT ALSO OF MUCH DRUMS

O 'Rourke's already made known during the election campaign for speaking out generally, and it was still unclear whether he specifically wanted to endorse abortion for the third time during his comments on Monday. In January, O 'Rourke had an interview with the Washington Post in a very broad interview, during which he declined to elaborate on a whole series of policy issues. Last week, O 'Rourke said that he was "kicking himself" for his answers during this interview – especially when he had proposed the following prescription for the crisis of Immigration: "I do not know".

However, there may have been at least some indication of O'Rourke's intention in his legislature career. He co-sponsored the Women's Health Protection Act when he was a member of the Texas Congress in 2017 – a bill that would have lifted most of the state's restrictions on women's health. abortion, including waiting periods.

Abortion has already become a hot topic in the upcoming presidential campaign – while progressives fear that the new conservative Supreme Court majority will revert to the abortion rights that have existed for generations, then that conservatives are accusing leading Democrats of indifference to infanticide.

Last month, all of Democracy 2020's leading presidential candidates in the Senate voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of the United States. New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Amy Klobuchar Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The bill supported by the GOP would have required "any health practitioner present" at the time of birth, including in the event of failure of an abortion, to "demonstrate the same degree of professional competence , care and diligence to preserve the lives and health of the victims. " child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. "

In response, President Trump tweeted that "this will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress". Many Democrats viewed the bill as a simple waterfall.

The law was introduced after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, approved abortions after birth while discussing The Repeal Act, a state bill to abolish abortions performed in the third quarter. Virginia Democratic Del. Kathy Tran, godmother of this bill, was interviewed at a hearing about whether a woman about to give birth and dilate could still apply for an abortion.

"My bill would allow it, yes," said Tran.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Northam, in a later interview with a radio station, backed Tran. "When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of the mother, obviously, with the consent of the doctors, or even more than one doctor," he added. . "And, it's done in cases where there may be serious malformations, there may be a fetus that is not viable."

Northam continued, "So in this particular example, if a mother gave birth, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the baby would be born, the baby would be kept comfortable, and the baby would be resuscitated if Was what the mother was doing and the desired family, and then a discussion would ensue between the doctors and the mother, so I think that was really exaggerated. "

Patrick Ward of Fox News contributed to this story.