Misleading: Dems Support Abortion "To the Moment of Birth"
The Claim
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support abortion “all the way up to the moment of birth.”
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Emerging story
During the October 7, 2020 Vice-Presidential debate, Vice President Mike Pence said: "I’m pro-life, I don’t apologize for it. This is another one of those cases where there’s such a dramatic contrast. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris support taxpayer funding of abortion all the way up to the moment of birth, late term abortion."
The claim soon went viral on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Neither Biden nor Harris has ever said that they support abortion “up to the moment of birth.” They did say that they support Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that legalizes abortion but allows individual states to regulate it.
According to the CDC, the vast majority of abortions are performed at early gestation. In 2016, only 1.2% were performed at greater than 21 weeks gestation. However, those almost always take place between the 21st and 24th weeks of gestation, which is still in the second trimester.
The American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said that late-term abortions are almost always due to a medical condition to save the mother’s life, particularly if there is little chance the fetus would survive even if delivered: “Women in these circumstances may risk extensive blood loss, stroke, and septic shock that could lead to maternal death. Politicians must never require a doctor to wait for a medical condition to worsen and become life-threatening before being able to provide evidence-based care to their patients, including an abortion.”
Pro-life organizations such as LifeNews argue that since some states allow late-term abortions, and since this is supported by the Roe v. Wade finding, this means that pro-choice politicians also support abortion “up to the moment of birth.”
However, even late-term abortions do not take place “up until the moment of birth.” There are nine states that do not have specific laws prohibiting abortion after a certain point of pregnancy: Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia. While elective abortion is generally available up to 26 weeks in these states, abortion after the 26-week point is usually only due to severe medical issues.
In 2003, a federal ban on partial-birth abortions was passed. It was upheld in 2007 in Gonzales v. Carhart.
Neither Biden nor Harris has said that they want to dismantle the Partial-Birth Abortion Act. In fact, Joe Biden was one of only three Democratic senators who voted in favor of the Act. While Harris did vote against a 2020 bill that would criminalize performing late-term abortions at 20 weeks, that is a very far time from “the moment of birth.”
