Stacey Abrams: Abortion Laws Can Not Set ‘Arbitrary Gestational Limits’

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said laws regulating abortion should not set “arbitrary gestational limits.”

Abrams said, “We know for women these abortion rights fights are about their ability to control their lives to have the ability to participate in the economy, to have the ability to determine whether forced pregnancy is in their future. Yes, I would urge every voter to think about the economy is going to go up and down, but the laws will change the future for every woman that you know when they become solidified change the future for every woman you know.”

Anchor Chuck Todd said, “I want to get some clarity on your position specifically. I want to put up what you said very recently on your abortion position. ‘My intention is going to be to pass legislation that says a woman has the right to an abortion. And that right continues until a physician determines the fetus is viable outside the body, except in the case of protecting the woman’s life or health.’ How do you put legislation around that?”

Abrams said, “You put legislation around that by returning to what we know is the structural framework of Roe v. Wade. You do it by not setting arbitrary gestational limits because we know those reflect medical decision-making.”

She continued, “What we are saying – we respect the responsibility that women have and the obligation that doctors have. Politicians are not scientists, and we should not be setting into law these moving targets that do not reflect the reality that women face when they are sitting in that doctor’s office.”

Abrams added, “I understand that there are those who would feel better if we picked, plucked a date out of the air, but we know that is not scientifically supportable.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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