‘Didn’t answer the second part of my question’: Buttigieg grilled by anti-abortion Democrat – Washington Examiner

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg faced sharp questioning at a Fox News town hall from an anti-abortion Democrat about his position on the issue and whether he thinks those who oppose abortion have a home in the Democratic Party.

"I'm a proud pro-life Democrat. So, do you want the support of pro-life Democrats?" town hall audience member Kristen Day, president of the Washington, D.C., organization Democrats for Life, asked the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor. "And if so, would you support more moderate platform language in the Democratic Party to ensure the party of diversity and inclusion really does include everybody?"

"I'm not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you. I am pro-choice, and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision," Buttigieg, 38, responded. "But I know that the difference of opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly. And the best that I can offer and it may win your vote, and if not, I understand. The best that I can offer is that, if we can't agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line. And in my view, it's the woman who is faced with that decision in her own life."

Town hall moderator Chris Wallace noted that President Trump on Friday became the first president to speak at the annual anti-abortion March for Life demonstration in Washington, D.C. Wallace turned back to Day and asked if she was satisfied with the way Buttigieg answered her question.

"I was not because he didn't answer the second part of my question," Day said. "The Democratic platform contains language that basically says that we don't belong, we have no part in the party because it says abortion should be legal up to nine months; the government should pay for it. And there's nothing that says that people that have a diversity of views on this issue should be included in the party."

She noted that in 1996 and other years, there was language in the Democratic Party platform that welcomed those with different views on abortion.

"I support the position of my party that this kind of medical care needs to be available to everyone," Buttigieg said. "And I support the Roe v. Wade framework that holds that early in pregnancy, there are very few restrictions and later in pregnancy, there are very few exceptions. And again, the best I can offer is that we may disagree on that very important issue, and hopefully we'll be able to partner on other issues."

The woman then said something inaudible not captured by the microphone, and Wallace asked Buttigieg whether anti-abortion Democrats should be asked to look at the party platform as a whole or look for another party.

"I've never encountered a politician or frankly another person that I agreed with 100% of the time, even on very important things," Buttigieg said. "I cannot imagine that a decision that a woman confronts is going to ever be better medically or morally because it's being dictated by any government official. And that's just where I am on the issue."

Earlier in the town hall, Buttigieg similarly said that while he was trying to woo anti-Trump Republicans into supporting him, he was not trying to "trick" anyone.

At a Fox News town hall in May 2019, Buttigieg indicated that he did not support any restrictions on access to abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy. When Wallace noted that about 6,000 women per year get abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, Buttigieg responded that represents less than 1% of cases.

"If its that late in your pregnancy, then its almost by definition, youve been expecting to carry it to term," Buttigieg said in May. "And the bottom line is, as horrible as that choice is, that woman, that family may seek spiritual guidance, they may seek medical guidance, but that decision is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made."

Just a handful of Democrats in Congress side with the anti-abortion platform, and abortion rights advocates have called for loosening all restrictions on abortion. In 2016 the Democratic platform on the issue shifted from calling for abortions to be "safe, legal, and rare" to just "safe and legal."

The Fox News town hall comes just a week before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. The RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls finds Buttigieg behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 19.3% support.

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'Didn't answer the second part of my question': Buttigieg grilled by anti-abortion Democrat - Washington Examiner