Politics

Beto Can’t Decide Whether Human Life Has Value One Day Before Birth

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke appeared to have difficulty declaring that human life had value one day prior to birth.

During a Monday night “Bully Pulpit” event at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, O’Rourke was presented with a question about his stance on late-term abortion, Breitbart’s Joel Pollak reported.

WATCH:

One audience member stepped up to ask a question, referencing O’Rourke’s previous comments about abortion rights. “I saw in March, on Twitter, video — you were at a town hall meeting just like this in Cleveland,” he said. “And someone asked you specifically, specifically about third trimester abortions, and you said that’s a decision left up to the mother. So, my question is this: I was born September 8th, 1989, and I want to know if you think on September 7th, 1989, my life had no value.” (RELATED: Beto Responds To Late-Term Abortion Question By Saying Planned Parenthood Saves Lives)

Several people in the crowd booed the question before O’Rourke responded, “Of course I don’t think that. And of course I’m glad that you’re here.”

But O’Rourke pivoted almost immediately, reverting to his initial stance and adding, “But you referenced my answer in Ohio, and it remains the same. 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. We want her to have the best possible access to care and to a medical provider, and I’ll tell you the consequence of this, this attack on a woman’s right to choose —”

The crowd cheered the former Texas congressman’s answer, but the man who had asked the initial question interrupted, asking, “But what about my right to life?”

O’Rourke thanked him for the question, but instead of addressing it directly, continued to complain about attacks on Roe v. Wade.

“I listened to you, and I heard your question. I’m answering it,” O’Rourke said. “And the attack on Roe v. Wade, which we thought was the settled law of the land, and lest we had any illusion that the achievements that we’ve made are protected forever, or that progress is inevitable, that has been shattered right now.”

He went on to claim that Texas was the “epicenter of the maternal mortality crisis,” appearing to reference a debunked study that claimed a drastic increase in maternal mortality was linked to the closings of clinics like those operated by Planned Parenthood. However, a revision of the data led to a new report published in 2018 — which concluded that the maternal mortality rate in Texas had actually decreased.