Mayor Pete Buttigieg claimed Thursday that it was unknowable when human life begins, making the issue of abortion too complicated to regulate.
“For those who have a strong view about some of these almost unknowable questions around life, the best answer I can give, is that because we will never be able to settle those questions, in a consensus fashion,” he said in response to a question about abortion limits.
Buttigieg commented on the issue of abortion during a conversation with Washington Post reporter Robert Costa.
When asked to clarify his claim that it was “unknowable” when life began, he continued: “It’s certainly unknowable in the way that scientific questions are answered, it’s a moral question.”
He argued that government should not draw any legal limits on abortion, leaving the choice solely to pregnant women.
“It’s not how we politically decide where the line ought to be drawn, the question is who gets to draw the line,” he said, calling the idea part of the framework of Roe vs. Wade.
“Roe vs. Wade is widely popular in this country because it has allowed to us to negotiate that,” he said.
He warned that attempts to overturn Roe vs. Wade would inevitably lead to more unsafe illegal abortions that would harm more women.
In a Wednesday conversation with Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart, Buttigieg rejected the concerns of pro-life Americans.
“We’re not going come to the same place on the choice issue, we’re just not,” he said, responding to a question Capehart posed from a pro-life Republican moderate who hated Donald Trump.
Buttigieg followed his rejection of life in the womb by urging Christians to join him on the principle of helping “the least among us.”
“If by chance, your view on that issue is motivated by faith, I would point out that this is also a moment for people of faith to think about what it means to support policies and politicians who care about lifting up the least among us,” he said.
Buttigieg’s approach is sharply different from former President Barack Obama who supported limits on late-term abortions when he ran for office and the concept of reducing unwanted pregnancies.
Buttigieg, who attends an Episcopalian church, urged Christians to see him as a “person of faith” despite their political disagreements about marriage and life in the womb.
“At least I can show you that I’m motivated by values and that the positions I’ve arrived at, are ones that I’ve come by honestly,” he said.