White House Won’t Say Obama’s Position on Bill Banning Abortions at 20 Weeks

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jun 14, 2013   |   10:28AM   |   Washington, DC

During the White House press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Jay Carney didn’t answer a question on what position President Barack Obama has on a bill the House will vote on next week to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Carney essentially referred to Obama’s general position on abortion — supporting all abortions at any time during pregnancy for an reason — when asked if the president has a position on the late-term abortion ban.

“Does the President and this White House believe that this bill is an important bill?” CNN’s Jessica Yellin asked. “Or does he agree with Minority Leader Pelosi?” Pelosi yesterday called late-term abortions “sacred ground.”

As The Weekly Standard reports, Carney didn’t answer the question.

“You know the President’s position on women’s health and on women’s right to choose,” he replied. “And he has been absolutely clear about where he stands.”

But, in fact, Obama hasn’t taken a clear position on late-term abortions. In 2003, Obama said he was “pro-choice” on late-term abortions. He later fought the Born Alive Infants’ Protection Act while serving as an Illinois state senator. “If these children are being born alive, I, at least, have confidence that a doctor who is in that room is going to make sure that they’re looked after,” Obama said. Has Kermit Gosnell made president Obama reconsider the confidence of state senator Obama?

Last year, the White House also refused to say whether Obama supported the bill to ban late-term abortions.

Before he was president, Obama, in an old video from 2003, when he was running for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, defended his position favoring late-term abortions.