RFK Jr. walks back stance on full-term abortion

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clarified his stance on purely “elective” abortions of healthy babies in late-term pregnancies.

Kennedy appeared on The Sage Steele Show earlier this week to advocate against government involvement in abortion, “even if it’s full term.” The clip subsequently outraged enough listeners online that he issued a clarifying statement Friday on X, saying he meant that late-term abortions should be reserved for babies with major health problems that affect their viability.

“Cases like this are why I am leery of inserting the government into abortion,” Kennedy wrote. “I had been assuming that virtually all late-term abortions were such cases, but I’ve learned that my assumption was wrong. Sometimes, women abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses. These cases of purely ‘elective’ late-term abortion are very upsetting. Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and it deserves society’s protection.”

Kennedy said he came to his latest conclusion after discussing the topic with family, advisers, and supporters. However, throughout his campaign, he has altered his stance on abortion, as he previously held the opinion that the option should only be available in the first three months of a pregnancy.

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Kennedy will be on the ballot in Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, and Oklahoma, according to his campaign. Additionally, the campaign claims to have collected enough signatures to appear on the ballots in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio.

Abortion likely will be a deciding factor in November’s elections. In a CNN poll taken this month, almost half of adults, 49%, wanted lawmakers to enact nationwide protections for abortion access. Another 37% said the matter should be left up to the states. The remaining 14% said they prefer nationwide abortion restrictions.