Following the vice presidential debate, which was largely considered a victory for JD Vance, the moderators of the event received a fact-check for their correction of a statement the Ohio senator made about Minnesota’s abortion policy. During the debate, Vance made it a point to highlight the radical abortion policies in the midwestern state and how that corresponds to the Biden-Harris stance on the practice.
During an opinion piece published for “The Hill,” notably a liberal outlet, contributor Becket Adams explained how Vance was correct when claiming that Gov. Tim Walz “repealed and re-wrote even its most basic common-sense abortion guidelines” after Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022. According to Adams, Minnesota became “one of the most loosely regulated states in the union.”
Furthermore, Vance received substantial criticism and was accused of lying after he claimed that “abortion specialists in the state are not required to render life-saving aid to children who survive botched abortions.” However, this statement was proven to be true after it was determined that Minnesota’s abortion laws contain vague language on a doctor’s responsibility if a child survives an abortion procedure.
Vance said during the debate, “The statute that [Walz] signed into law it says that a doctor who presides over an abortion, where the baby survives, the doctor is under no obligation to provide lifesaving care to a baby who survives a botched late-term abortion.” The Republican vice presidential candidate emphasized, “That’s fundamentally barbaric.”
However, Walz fired back that Vance was “trying to distort the way a law is written, to try and make a point.” As Vance challenged Walz to explain how this was the case, Vice President Harris’ running mate claimed, “That is not the way the law is written. … [T]hat’s been misread. And it was fact-checked at the last debate. It’s not the case. It’s not true. That’s not what the law says.”
During a subsequent interview, Walz was further pressed regarding his stance on abortion during a Fox News interview with Shannon Beam. She asked the Minnesota governor, “Abortion Finder, a website that helps women find access, says abortion is ‘legal throughout pregnancy in Minnesota. There is no ban or limit on abortion in Minnesota based on how far along in a pregnancy you are. You signed a bill that makes it legal through all nine months. Is that a position you think Democrats should advocate for nationally?”
“What you signed is there’s not a single limit through nine months of pregnancy. Roe had a trimester framework that did have limits through the pregnancy. The Minnesota law does not have that,” Beam added. Walz proceeded to criticize the Trump-Vance campaign stance on abortion. “Yes, of course. Senator Vance has in the past said so too. Now look, they may see this as an election issue. We see it as a right of women to make their own bodily decisions. And that’s what the states like my state have the ability to put that in,” he said.
Watch Walz get pressed on an alleged lie below:
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