Video: Fetterman Thinks Abortion Should Be Allowed through All Nine Months of Pregnancy for Any Reason

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman’s problems in Tuesday night’s debate weren’t limited to questions about his cognitive abilities. He was called out on extreme positions on a number of issues — from crime to energy to abortion.

On abortion, Oz pointed out that Fetterman backs a federal rule to require all states to allow abortion at 38 weeks — the ninth month — of pregnancy. 

Fetterman said that wasn’t true and that he only supports Roe. But Oz is right for three reasons: (1) Roe did not impose any legal limits on abortion; (2) Fetterman repeatedly said he opposes any legal limit on abortion; and (3) the federal legislation Fetterman supports requires states to allow abortion after viability until birth whenever a nurse, midwife, or doctor determines aborting the viable pregnancy would help the mother’s mental or emotional health.

In an April Democratic primary debate, Fetterman was asked: “Are there any limits on abortion you would find appropriate?”

“I don’t believe so, no,” Fetterman replied. 

Fetterman delivered the same response when CNN asked him in May (before his stroke) about support for third-trimester abortions: 

Democrats have tried to argue that elective late-term abortions simply never happen, but that’s not true:

The authors of a 2013 study on late abortions reported that “data suggest that most” abortions performed between weeks 20 and 28 of pregnancy are not performed for “reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.” (“Little is known about the relatively few abortions occurring in the third trimester,” the same authors reported.)

In other words, Fetterman would vote to invalidate Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit on abortion — a law on the books since 1982. Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted in 2011 under that law on 21 counts of killing babies in utero later than 24 weeks of pregnancy. (These were convictions in addition Gosnell’s three murder convictions for killing babies with scissors after they were born alive.) The 1982 Abortion Control Act includes an exception for physical threats to the mother’s life, so the late-term abortions for which Gosnell was convicted were purely elective.

Fetterman openly admitted earlier this year that he opposes any legal limit on abortion; the legislation he supports would allow abortion through all nine months; and his assertion that he supports Roe is an attempt to dodge the question.