Carney Evades Question on Abortion Ban past 20 Weeks

Carney Evades Question on Abortion Ban past 20 Weeks

On Thursday, White House press secretary Jay Carney would not answer a reporter’s question regarding President Obama’s position on a bill the House will vote on next week that proposes to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Weekly Standard reports that Jessica Yellin of CNN asked Carney, “Does the President believe that this bill is an important bill? Or does he agree with Minority Leader Pelosi?”

Earlier, Pelosi refused to respond to a question by the Weekly Standard‘s John McCormack about the morality of late-term abortions. The former House Speaker, who was personally rebuked in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI for her pro-abortion stance, called the bill “disrespectful to women” and claimed that, with regard to late-term abortion, “As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me.”

Carney evaded Yellin’s actual question. The Weekly Standard observes:

“You know the President’s position on women’s health and on women’s right to choose,” he replied. “And he has been absolutely clear about where he stands.”

But, in fact, Obama hasn’t taken a clear position on late-term abortions. In 2003, Obama said he was “pro-choice” on late-term abortions. He later fought the Born Alive Infants’ Protection Act while serving as an Illinois state senator. “If these children are being born alive, I, at least, have confidence that a doctor who is in that room is going to make sure that they’re looked after,” Obama said. Has Kermit Gosnell made president Obama reconsider the confidence of state senator Obama?

Last year as well, the Daily Caller noted the White House’s silence on a bill that would have banned abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy in the District of Columbia:

The White House is silent as House Republicans prepare to pass a novel law curbing second trimester abortions, despite furious opposition from President Barack Obama’s allies in the abortion-advocacy groups…

“The White House has not said a peep about [the pending bill, but] it would seem appropriate that people know what its position is,” said Doug Johnson, director of the National Right to Life Committee.

Johnson said he’s confident that Obama opposes the bill’s curbs on abortions.

Josh Earnest, the White House’s deputy press secretary, did not respond to questions from The Daily Caller.

In the video below, from 2003, while running for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, Obama justified his position favoring late-term abortions:

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