House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday dodged a question about Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s controversial comments this week in which he suggested babies could be aborted at extremely late stages of pregnancy in cases involving “severe deformities.”
In a press conference Thursday, Pelosi steered clear of Northam’s remarks and the debate over a Virginia state lawmaker’s proposal to allow abortions up until birth.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what he said yesterday,” Pelosi said, when asked about Northam’s widely circulated comments.
In an interview with WTOP, Northam said in cases of severe abnormalities, a delivered baby “would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians & mother.”
The interview drew outrage from anti-abortion lawmakers on Capitol Hill and advocacy groups who said Northam appeared to be condoning the murder of newborn babies. The abortion proposal, offered by Prince William County Delegate Kathy Tran, a Democrat, has been blocked in committee but has sparked a debate about the party’s support for late-term abortions.
[Opinion: Applause for abortion, applause from hell]
