New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, refused Wednesday to say when — or if — he believes abortion should be in any way restricted.
Appearing on Fox News, host Sean Hannity asked de Blasio, “Do you support any restrictions on abortion?”
The mayor wouldn’t provide a satisfactory answer, instead deflecting by simply claiming he “believes in” the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.
Refusing to back down, the Fox News commentator continued to press the 58-year-old de Blasio. He asked the politician for more details about his beliefs, noting the radical bill in Virginia that would have essentially enshrined abortion access up until (or potentially after) birth.
“Do you think a woman in the ninth month — putting aside health, putting aside life of the mother — do you support any restrictions until the baby is born?” Hannity asked. “That’s a simple question.”
De Blasio replied by telling Hannity his question is a “smokescreen” intended to distract from the issue because late-term abortion “doesn’t happen in America.”
However, while late-term abortions are rare in the U.S., it’s untrue to suggest it “doesn’t happen” in the country. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the left-leaning Guttmacher Institute, around 12,000 late-term abortions take place each year.
And truthfully, it was de Blasio who was putting up a “smokescreen.” If late-term abortion really is rare — or, in his words, “doesn’t happen” — why can’t de Blasio simply say he’s opposed to abortion in the eighth or ninth month of pregnancy? It doesn’t seem like much of an ask.
But I digress.
Rather than answering the simple question, the progressive mayor refused to express favor for any sort of restriction on abortion, describing the decision a woman makes to terminate her pregnancy as “a sacred choice.”
“It’s a very difficult choice, a very personal choice, and what we need to respect is that’s not a choice any woman wants to make,” he added. “And the law — overwhelmingly, Americans believe in protecting the right to choose.”
Once again, de Blasio put up his “smokescreen.” Americans are actually fairly split on the morality of abortion. A Gallup survey released earlier this year found 50 percent of Americans believe abortion is “morally wrong” while 42 percent said it’s “morally acceptable.” And though a slight majority of Americans support access to abortion, another recent poll revealed most pro-choicers — 66 percent — are against abortion in the third trimester. Seventy-seven percent of pro-choicers oppose withholding medical care for a viable child who survived abortion.
A majority of Americans in general — 79 percent — are against third-trimester abortions and 82 percent reject removing medical care for a viable child after birth.
But de Blasio stood his ground, insisting Hannity’s questions were a “smokescreen.”
“I’m not answering your way,” the mayor said. “I’m answering my way.”