A handful of House Democrats refused to say this week whether they believe women should be allowed to have an abortion up until the moment of birth.
Asked by Fox News Digital whether they would support any limitation on abortion, four Democrats – Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Adam Schiff of California, Juan Vargas of California and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia – would not answer the question.
With the exception of Vargas, the Democrats largely ignored the abortion questions altogether, just ahead of the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Vargas, although he did not answer the question directly, told Fox News that he believes “women should be able to chose their own healthcare” and that he “shouldn’t decide for them.”
From left to right: Reps. Juan Vargas of California, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Adam Schiff of California and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. (Jerod Harris, Kevin Dietsch, Jemal Countess, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
House Republicans were also asked the same question, with Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Nick Langworthy of New York weighing in on the subject.
“I don’t believe in abortion at all,” Burchett said outside the Capitol. “I think it’s murder. You got a little baby . . . and there’s no excuse.”
Referencing his Democratic colleagues, Burchett said, “This bunch here has pushed it til after birth, and we tried to defeat the bill, but Democrats were in control.”
Asked the same question, whether he believes abortion should be permitted up until the moment of birth, Langworthy told Fox, “Absolutely not.”
“I come from the state of New York, we have abortion on demand, and I think it’s one of the great treacheries of our time that we have abortion that has been legalized right up until the ninth month, right up to the moment of birth. And there’s no way to slice it . . . that is murder.”
Pro-abortion protesters participate in nationwide demonstrations following the leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting the possibility of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, in Houston, Texas, on May 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Callaghan O’Hare)
The questioning to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle comes as pro-life organizations and causes rally in the nation’s capital to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Thousands of pro-life activists are expected to join the “National Celebrate Life Day” rally in D.C. over the weekend.
One year ago Saturday, the Supreme Court effectively ended recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and gave individual states the power to allow, limit or ban the practice altogether.
A group of anti-abortion protesters crashes the Women’s March Action Rally for Reproductive Rights at Mariachi Plaza in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 8, 2022. ( DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
The ruling came in the court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involved a Mississippi law that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Republican-led state of Mississippi asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a lower court’s ruling that stopped the 15-week abortion ban from taking effect.
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“We end this opinion where we began. Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s opinion.
Earlier this year, 210 Democrats voted against legislation that would require immediate medical attention for babies who are born alive after an attempt was made to abort them.
Fox News’ Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.
