President Biden’s re-election campaign said Tuesday that the president does not support ‘full-term abortions’, drawing a contrast between a stance recently taken by one of his challengers in the race for the White House.
Fox News Digital asked the Biden campaign this week whether it agrees with remarks made last week by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said he opposes any government restrictions on abortions, ‘even if it’s full-term.’
‘No, the president doesn’t support full-term abortions, as he’s made clear many times. He thinks Roe got it right,’ said Lauren Hitt, a senior spokesperson for the campaign.
Following initial outreach to the Biden campaign, Fox News Digital received a statement on the matter from a Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesperson, who claimed Kennedy ‘can’t be trusted to stand up for reproductive freedom.’
‘He’s said he would sign a national abortion ban and has repeatedly dismissed the importance of abortion rights on the campaign trail,’ DNC communications adviser Lis Smith said in the statement. ‘With reproductive freedom under attack, we need leaders who will stand strong for women. It’s clear that neither RFK Jr. nor Trump will.’
Abortion has become a major issue on the campaign trail since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in June 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue to the states.
Democratic campaigns have made abortion a cornerstone of political messaging, and Biden has repeatedly hammered former President Trump over the issue.
During an April 23 speech at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida, Biden claimed it was Trump who ‘ripped away the rights of freedom of women in America.’
‘It will be all of us who restore those rights for women in America,’ he added at the time.
Some, however, take issue with Biden’s position that ‘Roe got it right,’ including SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser.
‘Roe had wide open exceptions allowing late term abortion on healthy babies as Biden and his team know full well. And pro-abortion studies show that’s the norm for late term,’ Dannenfelser wrote in a post to X.
Several Republican states have passed legislation limiting abortion, while Democrats have successfully won ballot initiatives in various states to allow for abortion procedures.
Appearing on Wednesday’s installment of ‘The Sage Steele Show,’ Kennedy was pressed about this abortion stance.
Kennedy clashed with Steele over late-term abortions, insisting they are extremely rare and that there are usually ‘extenuating circumstances’ behind those decisions.
‘I think there’s a really, really good argument, a compelling argument, that the state has an interest in protecting a fully-formed fetus. I absolutely think that that argument is very convincing. But again, I come down to the fact that I don’t trust the state,’ Kennedy said. ‘I think we need to trust the woman and I don’t think that that’s a satisfactory outcome, because there’s always gonna be instances where bad things happen.’
‘So, in other words, keeping it as is with Roe v. Wade having been overturned and leaving it up to the states to determine if and when a woman can have an abortion,’ Steele followed.
‘No, I wouldn’t leave it to the states,’ Kennedy responded. ‘We should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have government involved.’
‘Even if it’s full-term,’ Steele said.
‘Even if it’s full-term,’ Kennedy replied, later adding, ‘I think we have to leave it to the woman, not the state. I think we should do everything in our power to make sure that never happens and everything that we can do. But I think, ultimately, you know, nobody sets out to do that. And there are always some kind of extenuating circumstances that would make a mother make that kind of choice, a terrible, terrible choice which is, you know, you can’t overstate how bad that is. And I think, ultimately, we have to trust women.’
Kennedy’s abortion stance made headlines last year after NBC News reported that he supported limiting abortions to 15 or 21 weeks into the pregnancy.
His campaign later clarified his position, alleging he misunderstood the question, saying in a statement, ‘He does not support legislation banning abortion.’
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.