In an interview set to air on Univision on Sunday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he absolutely stands by Planned Parenthood and thinks there should be no doubt he can defeat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the primary season.
When asked by host Jorge Ramos about the undercover videos showing biomedical clinics offering to compensate Planned Parenthood for aborted fetal organs, Sanders admitted he had not watched the videos. But he still supports the abortion giant and its clinics across the country.
“They’re not selling fetuses,” Sanders said. “And this is something, I think the tone of that discussion was unfortunate. But if the question is, do I support Planned Parenthood? I absolutely do. … I will defend Planned Parenthood. I think a lot of this attack, to be honest with you, comes from people who simply do not believe that a woman should have a right to control her own body. That’s the motive.”
Sanders, a socialist who decided to run under the Democratic Party’s banner for 2016, also said he’s open to legalizing marijuana and would consider eliminating visa categories for immigrants but not entirely opening the nation’s borders.
When asked if he could beat Clinton, Sanders responded, “Absolutely. No question.”
“We started off with a disadvantage, not a whole lot of people knew who I was,” Sanders said. “But every day I think there are more people who know who I am and what our program is: the fact that we’re talking about the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality, creating jobs, making public colleges and universities tuition free, healthcare for all.”
Despite drawing record crowds at appearances in Iowa and New Hampshire, RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Sanders down nearly 40 percentage points to Clinton.
