Bernie Sanders would push a radical pro-abortion agenda on the American people if elected president.
The socialist senator from Vermont released his “reproductive health” agenda over the weekend, a plan that would take away the already severely limited rights of states to protect unborn babies and mothers from abortion.
Faith Wire reports Sanders would require states to obtain a clearance from the federal government before enacting any pro-life laws. Because Sanders support unrestricted abortions up to birth, his plan could stop states from approving even modest protections for unborn babies after viability or abortion clinic regulations that protect women.
His campaign website claims the pre-clearance plan would stop states from enacting laws that place “undue and unnecessary burdens and regulations” on abortion.
“If abortion is legal, but your state has no or too few reproductive health clinics, then you do not have reproductive justice or freedom,” his website states.
Former Democrat presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris introduced similar plans before ending their campaigns.
Additionally, Sanders promised to work closely with abortion activists to appoint judges who would uphold Roe v. Wade and abortion on demand.
The Vermont senator’s proposal goes on to address pro-abortion advocates’ anxieties about the future of abortion rights in the realm of federal court decisions.
“As President, Bernie will work tirelessly to undo the damage Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have done,” the plan says, referencing the White House and Senate’s efforts to fill federal judicial vacancies under President Trump. “That means working with reproductive justice and advocacy groups to fill vacancies with highly qualified, principled judges who will protect reproductive rights at every level.”
On that front, Sanders’ proposal says guarantees that he would require “all judicial nominees to support Roe v. Wade as settled law” and that the 1973 abortion ruling would also be codified in “legislative statute.”
On the issue of taxpayer funds, Sanders would force Americans to pay for abortions through his Medicare for All program. His plan would restore funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups by reversing policies put in place by President Donald Trump.
The opposite of pro-choice, Sanders’ plan also could reduce women’s pregnancy options by “turning [President Donald Trump’s] defunding effort on pro-life pregnancy resource centers and threatening to strip them of Title X and ‘other government funds.’”
The president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Ilyse Hogue, praised Sanders for introducing a “very solid,” “robust” plan. She urged Democrat candidate Joe Biden to propose “the same” kind of radical pro-abortion agenda.
Sanders’ abortion plan is, perhaps, the most radical of any ever proposed by a U.S. presidential candidate.
Last April, he said he supports allowing unborn babies to be aborted for any reason up to birth. And in 2018, he voted against a bill to ban late-term abortions and another to protect newborns from infanticide.
Polls consistently show that most Americans, including a large number of Democrats, do not support such extremes. A recent Gallup poll found that 59% of Democrats want at least some restrictions on abortion and 29% identify as pro-life.
Another recent poll by Marist found that six in 10 Americans (62%) say that if the Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade it should allow states to determine restrictions (46%) or make abortion illegal (16%). Only 33% of Americans say Roe should be interpreted to allow for legal abortion any time without restriction.
