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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference in Brooklyn on May 1, 2024.
CNN
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. opposes government restrictions on abortion at the federal or state level and supports legal abortion throughout pregnancy, while not allowing states to decide access to abortion. He argued that he should not play a role.
In a podcast interview with Sage Steele published Wednesday, Kennedy said, “I don't believe the government has jurisdiction over people's bodies,” adding, “We need to leave it up to women to make that decision. '' he said he believed. President Kennedy emphasized that he believes “every abortion is a tragedy,” and the president called for making child care more affordable to ease the pressure on women considering high-cost abortions. promised as.
When asked by Steele if he supported allowing states to decide a woman's access to abortion, Kennedy said, “The government should not be involved.”
“I'm not going to leave it to the states. My belief is that it should be left to the women. It shouldn't involve the government,” President Kennedy said.
“Even at full term?” Steele asked, referring to the possibility of an abortion occurring close to the child's due date.
“Even if it's full term,” Kennedy answered.
This position stands in contrast to President Kennedy's previous statements on abortion, as well as vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan's stance on abortion. In an interview with Steele published last week, Shanahan said, “My understanding is that he absolutely believes in restricting abortion.”
When asked by Steele to confirm whether Kennedy did not support government restrictions on abortion, Shanahan said, “That's not my understanding of his position. Maybe there was a misunderstanding there.'' I think so.''
Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Speer said in a statement to CNN that the candidate believes “late-term abortions are horrible” and that “mothers have the final say and moral responsibility for such decisions.” I have it,” he said.
“He is committed to reducing abortion rates by supporting mothers and families and implementing universally affordable child care,” Spear said.
Kennedy's comments to Steele are the clearest expression of his views regarding state or federal pregnancy restrictions on abortion. Last year, Mr. Kennedy told reporters he supported a three-month federal abortion limit, but his campaign quickly walked back that position. President Kennedy has often avoided direct answers about whether he supports abortion restrictions, emphasizing plans to expand access to child care subsidies and adoption services.
President Kennedy acknowledged to Steele that there was a “compelling argument” that the government should place gestation limits on access to abortion. He also acknowledged that his position was “not a very satisfactory outcome” due to the possibility of “bad things happening”.
“I think there's a very, very good argument, a persuasive argument, that the state has an interest in protecting a fully formed fetus. I absolutely think that this argument is very persuasive. “Kennedy said. “But again, it comes down to the fact that I don't trust the state, and I think we need to trust this woman. And there are always examples of bad things happening, so I don't think the results are satisfactory.”
President Kennedy said he believed there were “extenuating circumstances” in which a woman might undergo a late-term abortion, but that he believed the choice to terminate should be made solely by the mother. repeated.
“I don't think there's ever been a woman in history who said, 'I'm going to have a baby, I'm going to get pregnant and carry it to eight years old.'” She plans to terminate the pregnancy after a few months. “I don't think anyone wants to do that,'' Kennedy said. “I'm sure that happened. I think in almost all of those cases there are extenuating circumstances.”
“But at the end of the day, I don't think anyone is going to do that,” he later added. “And there's always some extenuating circumstances that cause a mother to make a choice like that, and I can't stress enough how terrible it is, it's a terrible, terrible choice. And I think ultimately you have to trust women.”
The influential anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America condemned President Kennedy's comments Thursday, with the group's president calling him a “true extremist.”
“He will use the power of the federal government to eliminate state pro-life protections and impose unlimited abortions on demand all across America up to what he calls 'full term.' He is unacceptable to millions of pro-life voters,” Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.
