During Thursday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to say if Democrat President Joe Biden supports abortion until the moment of birth.
“The President’s position on choice has evolved over time, so just checking for his official position. Does he support any limits on abortion right now?” Doocy asked.
“Peter, the President has … talked about his position many times,” Psaki replied. “He supports the right of a woman to make choices about her own body with her doctor.”
“But I know that one of the Democrats that he endorsed and who won their primary this week, Tim Ryan, said yesterday that he does not support any limits on abortion,” Doocy pressed. “Is that where the President’s thinking is now?”
“The President has stated his view many times,” Psaki said.
“So does the President support abortion up until the moment of birth?” Doocy asked.
“The President has spoken about this many times, Peter,” Psaki said for a third time. “And I would refer you to his own comments about abortion and a woman’s right to choose and make decisions about her body with her doctor, which is what any of those women would do.”
However, as Doocy pointed out, when looking to Biden’s “many” comments on his views on abortion it is unclear what his position is. As early as December 1981, for example, then-Senator Biden proposed an amendment that would reverse Roe v. Wade.
“A right to abortion is not secured by this Constitution,” the Human Life Federalism Amendment said. “The Congress and several States shall have the concurrent power to restrict and prohibit abortions: Provided, That a law of a State which is more restrictive than a law of Congress shall govern.”
And, as pointed out by National Review’s David Harsanyi, in 1994, “Biden wrote a letter to a constituent bragging that he has voted against abortion funding on 50 separate occasions.” And on June 5, 2019, Biden expressed his support for the Hyde amendment, which bans the use of federal funds to pay for abortion. Biden did, however, reverse this position the next day after facing backlash from Democrats as he continued his 2020 presidential run.
