Psaki: GOP claims that Democrats root for late-term abortion is ‘entirely misleading’

Former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki pushed back against GOP claims that Democrats root for late-term abortions, calling the GOP’s arguments “entirely misleading.” 

“This claim that Democrats support abortion up until the moment of birth is entirely misleading,” Psaki said during her show “Inside with Jen Psaki” on MSBNC. “First of all, abortions past the point of fetal viability do not happen often. They are incredibly rare. And those that happen involve agonizing, emotional, and ethical decisions.”

During last week’s GOP primary debate, multiple of the candidates claimed Democrats and some Democrat-led states support abortion up until birth. While watching the debate, Psaki wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “No one supports abortion up until birth,” which she said Sunday “seemed to really strike a nerve.” 

Psaki pointed to CDC data, which showed 93.1 percent of abortions in 2020 took place within the first 13 weeks while less than 1 percent occurred after 21 weeks of pregnancy. 

Citing a study from the Washington Post, Psaki noted the small number of abortions that took place after 21 weeks of pregnancy in several states. 

“Again, this does not happen often,” Psaki said. “And when it does, you can see how painful this really is through personal stories.”

“Mothers have described in heart-wrenching detail having to make decision to end their pregnancy to save their own life, or because they were told the baby that they were so excited for would not survive, or would suffer,” Psaki said. “Are most Democrats in favor of legislation that allows for this? Yes. For all the reasons I just outlined.”

Psaki said “no one is rooting for late term abortions,” and no one is running a platform on “aborting viable babies.” 

“What is happening here is an attempt by Republican presidential candidates, who know their views on women’s healthcare are out of touch with the public, to change the parameters of the debate,” Psaki said. “By inaccurately characterizing the positions of leaders on the other side.” 

Psaki played a clip from last week’s debate that showed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying, “We’re better than what Democrats are selling. We are not going to allow abortion up until birth. She then showed a clip of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who said, “We cannot let states like California, New York, and Illinois have abortions on demand up until birth.”

“Are Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott in favor of a mother dying as a result of her pregnancy?” Psaki said. “If a doctor determines a baby can not survive outside of the womb should a mother be required to carry that baby to term?,” adding those choices shouldn’t be made by any politician or legislature.