By Dave Andrusko
Some Democrats are evasive when confronted with the fact that their position on abortion is that you can kill the children up to the moment of birth. Some refuse to answer–see Arizona Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs. Others, such as Mandela Barnes, the pro-abortion Democrat challenging pro-life Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, are more honest: sure, he does, although he quickly attempts to muddy the waters.
John McCormack pinned him down over the weekend at an abortion rally. The headline to McCormack’s story is “Mandela Barnes Admits He Opposes Any Legal Limit on Abortion Until Birth: Even if baby and mother are healthy, Wisconsin’s Democratic Senate nominee says abortion should be allowed after viability.”
In the piece for National Review Online, McCormack quotes their exchange:
National Review: Lieutenant Governor, last night at the [Wisconsin Senate] debate Ron Johnson said that you support abortion up until birth. You responded you support Roe. But what about after viability, when Roe said that there could be limits? Say at 23 weeks of pregnancy, if the pregnancy doesn’t pose a risk to the physical health of the mother — [the] baby’s healthy — should abortion be legal or illegal in those cases after viability?
Mandela Barnes: It all goes back to this decision being made between a woman and her doctor. That’s as simple as it gets.
McCormack points out the overwhelming opposition to post-viability abortion. So, indeed, it is simple: unlike Barnes, the public says it should be illegal. McCormack writes
Viability (mostly a function of lung development) occurs as early as 21 to 22 weeks of pregnancy, and a 2013 study reported that data suggest abortions between weeks 20 and 28 of pregnancy are not performed for “reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”
McCormack made another attempt to see if Barnes was that extreme:
National Review: So even when there’s no physical threat to the mother’s life and the baby’s healthy after viability?
Barnes attempted to shift the question to the law of another state. But McCormack explained that Wisconsin’s law is crystal-clear:
The text of the Wisconsin statute says the prohibition on abortion “does not apply to a therapeutic abortion which: (a) Is performed by a physician; and (b) Is necessary, or is advised by 2 other physicians as necessary, to save the life of the mother.”
McCormack moves on to talk about the politics of the race between Johnson and Barnes and how pivotal it is for both parties since the United States Senate is currently split 50-50 with pro-abortion Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
Please take a few minutes out and read “Mandela Barnes Admits He Opposes Any Legal Limit on Abortion Until Birth.”