A pro-life Democrat confronted Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg at a Fox News town hall Sunday, resulting in Buttigieg refusing to say that pro-life voters are welcome in the Democratic Party.
"I am a proud pro-life Democrat. So, do you want the support of pro-life Democrats, pro-life Democratic voters? There are about 21 million of us," audience member Kristen Day asked. "And if so, would you support more moderate platform language in the Democratic Party to ensure that the party of diversity and inclusion really does include everybody?"
In his response, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor ignored the heart of Day's question, saying:
Well I respect where you're coming from and I hope to earn your vote, but I'm not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you. I am pro-choice and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision.
I know that the difference of opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly and the best that I can offer, and it may win your vote, and if not, I understand, the best I can offer is that if we can't agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line and in my view it's the woman who's faced with that decision in her own life.
Stepping in, moderator Chris Wallace noted that President Donald Trump was the first sitting U.S. president to attend the annual March for Life rally — emphasizing that pro-life issues are important to Trump — then asked if Buttigieg's response was satisfactory.
"I was not because he did not answer the second part of my question," Day responded.
She continued, "I was not because he did not answer the second part of my question and the second part was: The Democratic platform contains language that basically says that we don't belong, we have no part in the party, because it says abortion should be legal up to nine months, the government should pay for it, and there's nothing that says that people who have diversity of views on this issue should be included in the party.
"So, my question was would you be open to language like that in the Democratic platform that really did say that our party is diverse and inclusive and we want everybody?" she asked again.
Buttigieg then told Day that he supports the Democratic Party's language and refused to say that pro-life voters are welcome in the Democratic Party.
"I support the position of my party, that this kind of medical care needs to be available to everyone, and I support the Roe v. Wade framework that holds that early in pregnancy there are very few restrictions and late in pregnancy there are very few exceptions," Buttigieg said. "And again the best I can offer is that we may disagree on that very important issue and hopefully we will be able to partner on other issues."
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