No, I think the dialogue has gotten so caught up on where you draw the line, that we’ve gotten away from the fundamental question of who gets to draw the line, and I trust women to draw the line when it’s their life,” Buttigieg answered.
Wallace then asked about abortion in the third trimester before quickly dismissing Buttigieg’s suggestion that the question was “hypothetical” by pointing out that roughly 6,000 third-trimester abortions occurred last year.
“So, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in that situation. If it’s that late in your pregnancy, that means almost by definition you’ve been expecting to carry it to term,” Buttigieg said. “We’re talking about women who have perhaps chosen a name, women who have purchased a crib — families who then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime, something about the health or the life of the mother that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice.”
“The bottom line is, as horrible as that choice is, that woman, that family, may seek spiritual guidance, they may seek medical guidance, but that decision isn’t going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made,” he said.
The majority of abortions that take place after 20 weeks are performed for reasons other than the health of the mother or child being placed in jeopardy, according to the pro-choice Guttmacher Ins ute.