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Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got into it with an NBC journalist over Democratic Party support for late-term abortions, which DeSantis described as “infanticide.”
Correspondent Dasha Burns pressed DeSantis during an interview about whether he would veto a federal abortion ban if he won the Oval Office next year.
“I would not allow what a lot of the left wants to do, which is to override pro-life protections throughout the country all the way up really until the moment of birth in some instances, which I think is infanticide,” DeSantis replied.
“I’ve gotta push back on you on that,” Burns interjected, “because that’s a misrepresentation of what’s happening. I mean, 1.3% of abortions happen at 21 weeks [of pregnancy] or higher.”
“But their view is is that all the way up until that, there should not be any legal protections,” DeSantis fired back.
“There is no indication of Democrats pushing for that,” Burns countered.
The network then cut off DeSantis in its news package as he started to reply.
Burns was referencing data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that abortions after 21 weeks of gestation account for close to 1.3% of abortions nationally.
.@NBCNews exclusive: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to @DashaBurns about abortion bans:
Burns: Would you veto any sort of federal bill that tries to put a nationwide ban in place?
DeSantis: We will be a pro-life President and we will support pro-life policies. pic.twitter.com/3qfWN4OrHm
A transcript shared by the DeSantis campaign showed his rebuttal of Burns during the portion that had been cut off: “Well, yes, they are. They’ve done it in California. They’ve done it in other states.”
“I don’t say that that’s the norm in terms of this. But I do think that the left in this country has moved on from a position that said, ‘You know what, we do want to discourage abortion, it’s not something that’s a good thing,’ to now viewing it more as a positive good for society,” the governor went on. “I don’t think most Americans think it’s a positive good for society. It’s obviously a tragic circumstance.”
The campaign also put out a mashup of prominent Democrats such Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) opposing any restrictions on the procedure.
Fetal viability is generally thought to occur somewhere around six months into pregnancy. The record for earliest born premature baby to survive sits at approximately 21 weeks.
Following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade last year, some blue states have enacted laws scrapping limits on abortion completely. Last month, for example, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill allowing the procedure at any point in a pregnancy if a doctor deems it medically necessary.
In 2019, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved legislation expanding legal abortion in New York to cover procedures deemed to protect the mother’s health or in cases where the fetus would not survive.
Last year, Democrats in the Senate forced a show vote on legislation that Republicans said would have removed any obstacle to abortion anywhere in the US.
In April, DeSantis signed legislation to ban the procedure after detection of what supporters call a fetal heartbeat, generally around six weeks into a pregnancy.
That legislation, which has faced legal setbacks, included exceptions for cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother was in jeopardy.
Some prominent DeSantis backers, such as hotel magnate Robert Bigelow, have been apprehensive about his position on abortion. Bigelow has donated $20 million to the DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down Super PAC, but indicated in recent days he would check his spending.
DeSantis also recently received flack from a prominent anti-abortion group ,the Susan B. Anthony List, for being noncommittal about a national six-week ban. The governor had stressed during a podcast interview with journalist Megyn Kelly that he was running on things “I know we can accomplish.”
The NBC interview was part of a pivot by DeSantis to do more sitdowns with less friendly outlets, starting with CNN last month.
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