Democrat Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) over the weekend refused to say exactly when she believes abortion should be banned, stating simply that she supports abortions up to the “point of viability,” but failing to elaborate on when, exactly, that point occurs.
CBS Miami’s Jim DeFede asked Demings to explain her position on abortion, pressing her on whether she supports abortion “up to the point of viability.”
She did not immediately answer, pointing to the women’s suffrage movement and those who she said “bled and died for us to have the constitutional rights that we enjoy.”
Notably, women do not have the constitutional “right” to take the life of an unborn child.
“But what I also hear as I travel the state of Florida, from women and men, is that we’re not going back to a place where women are treated like second-class citizens, women and girls that were treated like property,” she said, explaining that she supports abortion “up to the point of viability.”
When pressed about what the “point of viability” means, she would not give a specific answer.
“When you say point of viability, does that — is that 24 weeks in your mind?” DeFede asked.
“You know, and let’s not forget the health care portion that is involved in reproductive rights. Women should have the opportunity to counsel with their doctors and their doctors — in the privacy of that doctor’s office — should be able to make that decision,” she said, contending that “the doctor can tell us all what the point of viability is.”
“But that’s my position — that I support a woman’s right to an abortion up to the point of viability,” she added, affirming her vague position.
On the flip side, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told DeFede that he is in “favor of laws that protect human life.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks during a Senate Committee confirmation hearing, April 21, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)
“I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of their conception, but I recognize that’s not a majority position,” Rubio said. “This is not an easy issue. I never said this is an easy issue. It puts two fundamental rights in conflict — the right to choose of a woman and the right to live of an unborn human being.”
Demings is in good company, as several-high profile Democrats also have difficulties naming a specific point when abortion should be illegal. Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is running against Gov. Greg Abbott (R), is the latest to make waves after refusing to say that abortion should be illegal, even at the point of partial-birth.
“I trust women and their doctors to make their decisions about their body, about their health care, and about their future,” the Democrat said last week.
“I think that is the best, smartest, most constitutional, and most American, and most Texan approach to this issue, and that’s the way I would approach it,” he added:
A May Fox News poll found that most Americans believe abortion should be either “mostly” or “always” illegal.