Rubio responds to Demings' comments, accuses Dem opponent of supporting abortion 'at any point'
Rubio discussed his position on abortion at an assembly of Florida faith leaders
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., seized on remarks about abortion that his Democratic Senate opponent Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., made in a recent interview, giving his take on why the congresswoman stopped short of giving a precise time at which she believes abortion should not be an available option.
Demings had told CBS Miami over the weekend that she believes in a right to abortion up to the point of viability, but when asked if that meant 24 weeks, which is roughly the standard that has been used in the past, she would not commit to that mark or any other.
"My opponent will not tell you which abortions should be illegal," Rubio told a gathering of faith leaders in Davie, Florida on Thursday. "The reason why she can’t is you can’t have 100% from Planned Parenthood and 100% from NARAL and not believe in abortion on demand, taxpayer-funded, at any point in a pregnancy. At any point."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Demings' response to the question was that "women should have the opportunity to counsel with their doctors," and that "a doctor can tell us all what the point of viability is," rather than any legal standard.
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Sen. Marco Rubio addresses crowd at Florida Republican Party primary night event in Hialeah, Florida. (Ronn Blitzer, Fox News)
In response, Demings' press secretary said in a statement to Fox News that the congresswoman "will fight to codify Roe and protect the right to choose," and that "Marco Rubio wants to criminalize doctors, and force an extremist abortion ban with no exceptions for victims of rape, incest, and human trafficking."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Demings has made abortion a key part of her campaign, going so far as to tell an audience at a recent event that it, and constitutional rights in general, was her number one issue. She has been quick to attack Rubio for his right-wing position on the issue, tweeting that the incumbent senator "is obsessed with taking away our freedoms" and "needs to go" because he "believes in abortion bans with no exceptions."
While it is true that Rubio has a hard-line personal stance on abortion, he has said that he would support bans that do have limited exceptions. On Thursday, however, he defended his position and pushed back against the idea that he has no concern for victims of rape or incest who may want to get an abortion.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., has attacked Sen. Marco Rubio over his pro-life stance as the two prepare to square off in November's election. (Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS)
"I’m not here to tell you that some young girl who’s pregnant, and scared, and afraid to tell her parents, and thinks her life is over, and that that somehow is an easy situation. It’s not," Rubio said. "I recognize that. I really do."
He continued: "But we have a fundamental problem on this issue and here’s what it is. You have the right of what happens to her which she possesses from God, and the right of an unborn, innocent human being to live. And these rights are in conflict as rights sometimes are."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With that in mind, Rubio said that "a society has to decide" which one of those rights it holds as more important.
"And I just believe, with all my heart, that if you’re not a society that gives precedence to life above every other right, then you’re headed in a very dangerous direction," he said. "Because once you step a foot on the road to deciding what kind of life is worthy of protection and what kind of life is not worthy of protection, well where does that road lead you?"