Getty Former vice president and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump published a tweet Tuesday stating Joe Biden is in favor of late-term abortion. Biden has said he is for a ban on late-term abortion.
The full post read, “Biden and Democrats just clarified the fact that they are fully in favor of (very) LATE TERM ABORTION, right up until the time of birth, and beyond – which would be execution. Biden even endorsed the Governor of Virginia, who stated this clearly for all to hear. GET OUT & VOTE!!!”
Biden and Democrats just clarified the fact that they are fully in favor of (very) LATE TERM ABORTION, right up until the time of birth, and beyond – which would be execution. Biden even endorsed the Governor of Virginia, who stated this clearly for all to hear. GET OUT & VOTE!!!
The governor Trump is presumed to be referring to in the tweet is Ralph Northram, who has supported legislation allowing third-trimester abortions only if a mother’s physical or mental health is at risk.
In the wake of Northram’s statements, according to The Independent, Republicans have claimed that anyone who endorses Virginia Democrats “support the execution of unborn babies.”
Trump’s tweet has the public questioning whether or not Biden is truly in favor of late-term abortion up to birth and beyond.
As NewsWeek points out, while the Democratic Party is firm in their belief that women should have access to legal abortion, there is no specific stance on how long into the pregnancy that abortion should be performed. Some right-wing politicians have claimed that Democrats, therefore, support late-term abortion.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Tweet Comes the Morning After Biden Spoke to NBC News
While President Trump has made it clear he hopes to overturn federal law and that he “supports a near-total ban,” Biden’s campaign supports a women’s right to choose, according to BBC.
On Monday, Biden said during an interview with NBC News that if Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is seated and the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned, his only response would be to “pass legislation making Roe the law of the land. That’s what I would do.”
During the October Democratic debate, Biden similarly said, “Reproductive rights are a constitutional right. And, in fact, every woman should have that right.”
Over the years, however, Biden’s stance on the subject of abortion has shifted drastically.
In 1981, Harpers Bazaar reported that the former vice-president supported a constitutional amendment that would allow states to overturn Roe v. Wade.
And in a 1974 interview with Washingtonian, Biden directly criticized Roe, saying, “I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body.”
In 2007, when Biden was specifically asked if he supports a ban on late-term abortions and partial-birth abortions, he said, “I did and I do.”
Renewed Interest in Biden’s Stances on Women’s Rights
With the election just weeks away, public interest in Biden’s stance on women’s’ rights has peaked.
When it comes to health care, according to Harpers Bazarr, Biden has said that he hopes to build on the Affordable Care Act. The outlet writes, “He proposes that ‘the public option will cover contraception and a woman’s constitutional right to choose.'”
In addition, Biden hopes to rescind President Trump’s “global gag rule” which “prohibits foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who receive U.S. global health assistance from providing legal abortion services or referrals,” according to Open Society Foundations.
Biden also intends on providing federal funding to Planned Parenthood, who endorsed the former VP in June.
“Joe Biden is the only candidate in this race who will stand up for our health and our rights,” acting Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement. “He was instrumental in the creation of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded birth control with no co-pay to 63 million women, and in helping to ensure that sexual and reproductive health care was accessible across the country. He has spoken out for LGBTQ+ rights, and against the systemic racism in this country that is costing Black people their lives. Biden has committed to champion access to sexual and reproductive health care — including access to abortion — and to fight for our communities. When he left the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden had a 100% voting record from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and has been clear he is ‘100% for sexual and reproductive health.’ And we are going to hold him to that.”
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