On Monday night at the College of Charleston, S.C., a brave 29-year-old man asked 2020 Democratic candidate former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) an extremely revealing question. O’Rourke has long supported late-term abortion, saying that even in the third trimester, the decision whether or not to kill an unborn baby should be entirely between the mother and her doctor. The questioner took this position to its logical conclusion.
“My question is this. I was born September 8, 1989, and I want to know if you think on September 7, 1989, my life had no value,” the man said.
Taken aback, O’Rourke replied, “Of course I don’t think that. And of course I’m glad that you’re here. But you referenced my answer in Ohio, and it remains the same.”
“That’s a decision that neither you, nor I, nor the U.S. government should be making. That’s a decision for the woman to make,” he said of late-term abortion.
O’Rourke was not being consistent. He said he does not believe the man’s life had no value on September 7, 1989, but he is unwilling to protect babies even just one day before their due date or one day before their birth. His policy sends the message that this man’s life had no value worth protecting on that date, even while Beto himself cannot bring himself to say this to his face.
O’Rourke’s position is wildly unpopular. According to a Knights of Columbus/Marist poll this past February, a full 68 percent of pro-choice Americans oppose abortion the day before a child would be born. Sixty-six percent of pro-choice Americans oppose abortion in the third trimester and another 77 percent of them oppose removing medical care for a viable child outside the womb.
Americans as a whole proved even less likely to support the killing of a baby in these circumstances. Eighty percent oppose abortion the day before birth, 79 percent oppose abortion in the third trimester, and 82 percent oppose removing medical care for a viable child after birth.
Adam Ford, founder of The Babylon Bee and the Christian Daily Reporter, tweeted the video of the 2020 Democrat’s response, condemning it as “barbarous, shameful, disgusting.”
Here's Beto last night saying he supports dismemberment abortion on the day before a baby's birth.
"That's a decision for the woman to make."
Barbarous, shameful, disgusting. pic.twitter.com/8PLaCH7hVq
— Adam Ford (@Adam4d) August 27, 2019
No matter how much Beto O’Rourke denies it, the logical conclusion of his position is clear: human life does not acquire any value worth protecting until the moment of birth. That should be terrifying, and not just to the brave man who asked about the day before his birthday.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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