DNC Chair Once Again Refuses to Say Whether Her Party Opposes Ban on Third-Trimester Abortions

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BKy3FeH0xZw

Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) refused to say whether there should be any restrictions on abortion at any point in a pregnancy in an interview with Fox News’s Megyn Kelly on Tuesday.

In the wake of Wasserman Schultz’s spat with Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.), who recently pressed reporters to confront the chairwoman on her (and her party’s) positions on abortion as they do with Republican presidential candidates, Kelly conceded that Paul hasn’t been direct in saying if supports exceptions in cases of rape and incest. But she said she still wanted Wasserman Schultz to clarify when she believes life begins, and what stage in a pregnancy, if any, should be a legal cut-off point for abortions.

At first, Wasserman Schultz resorted to boilerplate rhetoric about not wanting to “roll back” abortion rights for women and dismissive comments — “Look at what we’re talking about,” she laughed at one point — but Kelly noted that polls show that most Americans oppose abortions as late as the third trimester. Nonetheless, the congresswoman stood by the general premise that it’s a matter to be decided between a woman and her doctor, before taking a shot at Paul.

“In terms of personal liberty, we definitely have a different opinion, Rand Paul and I do,” she said.

“You would admit you can’t have women aborting third-trimester babies just on a whim, right?” Kelly followed up. Despite claiming there was “no ambivalence” in her response, Wasserman Schultz dodged again, focusing only on the “on a whim” part of Kelly’s question.

#related#”I can’t tell you a specific date and time past which we in all cases are certain that choice shouldn’t be made,” she continued. “That decision is very unique and individual to the woman.”

As the interview wrapped up, Wasserman Schultz called for Paul to “stop deflecting and answer the darn question.”

— Andrew Johnson is an editorial associate at National Review Online.