House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) issued the following statement on Sen. Bernie Sanders comments regarding abortion and population control at last night’s CNN town hall:
“Senator Sanders’ comments laid bare the prevailing view of human life in the Democrat party, and it’s horrifying. In Virginia, Democrats have embraced abortion up until the moment of birth, a position amplified by Beto O’Rourke and a House Democrat candidate just last week,” he said.
“Democrats believe the life of a child has no value unless someone else deems it valuable. Republicans believe that the life of a child is infinitely valuable — regardless of what any Senator, Delegate, or other person may think. I call on my Democrat colleagues to denounce the Sanders ‘abortion as population control’ view, and embrace the value of each and every human life.”
Background:
Below, find Mediaite’s account of the exchange during last night’s CNN town hall:
“Human population growth has more than doubled in the past 50 years,” Readyoff said, adding “The planet cannot sustain this growth. I realize this is a poisonous topic for politicians, but it’s crucial to face.”
“Empowering women and educating everyone on the need to curb population growth seems a reasonable campaign to enact,” she said, and asked “Would you be courageous enough to discuss this issue and make it a key feature of a plan to address climate catastrophe?”
“Well, Martha, the answer is yes,” Sanders replied, adding “And the answer has everything to do with the fact that women in the United States of America, by the way, have a right to control their own bodies and make reproductive decisions.”
“And the Mexico City agreement, which denies American aid to those organizations around the world that are — that allow women to have abortions or even get involved in birth control to me is totally absurd…”
“So I think, especially in poor countries around the world where women do not necessarily want to have large numbers of babies, and where they can have the opportunity through birth control to control the number of kids they have, it’s something I very, very strongly support,” he concluded.