Hillary: ‘Don’t Know’ What Rubio’s Talking About On Abortion, Roe Allows Restrictions And That’s Where I Am

hillary-clinton Marco Rubio AP
AP Photos

Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she didn’t know what GOP candidate Florida Senator Marco Rubio was talking about when he said she supports abortion right up until birth, and that Roe v. Wade, a ruling that she affirmed is where she stands on abortion, allows for some restrictions on abortion on Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball.”

Hillary was asked, “Are with — I know no Supreme Court decision’s perfect, but are you satisfied with Roe v. Wade the way it is? If you had to live with that all through your presidency would you say, ‘That’s where I’m at?'”

She responded, “Yes, absolutely, Chris. I mean, there is no doubt that that decision recognized the rights of women to make these really difficult choices, and it is as close as I think we could ever get to, you know, making it clear that there can be restrictions after a certain point, so long as the life and the health of the mother are taken into effect. And I think it has been a decision that, you know, has been important to the constitutional rights of women, but I also think that, because it was premised on, you know, women making their own choices, there’s plenty of room for women to make whichever choice they so choose to make, and that’s how it should be in our country.”

Host Chris Matthews then stated, “The reason I raise that, I know your position is pro-choice all these years, and I just was amazed at Senator Rubio saying in one of the debates the other night that you supported abortion right up until the date of birth. I don’t know what he meant by that exactly. That wouldn’t be your position — that’s not Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade has restrictions on the final period — the final trimester.”

Hillary then said, “Absolutely. … I don’t know what he was talking about. I’m not sure he knew what he was talking about. He is moving as far to the right as he possibly can get. But Roe is very clear, that if you take into account the life and the health of the mother, there can be exceptions to restrictions that are imposed, that are lawful, constitutional.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.