The proposed funding bill failed because Democratic senators refused to acquiesce to several embedded provisions, which included impeding Planned Parenthood’s role in the crisis, stripping $540 million in funding for the Affordable Care Act, and – on an entirely unrelated note – allowing the Confederate flag to freely fly at federal cemeteries.
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The I Smile Back star was responding to Rubio’s recent statements that he doesn’t believe pregnant women infected with the Zika virus should have the right to an abortion, even if the child might be born with severe microcephaly.
Zika remains uncharted territory, for never before has a mosquito-borne disease been known to cause birth defects.
“But if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life”.
But when the question is rephrased to take into account microcephaly, the severe birth defect affecting brain development, those numbers flipped: 59 percent would support abortion in such cases, while only 23 percent would disapprove. Even 48 percent of Republicans were down with legal late-term abortions in those cases, compared with 12 percent in normal circumstances.
But most states have laws that restrict abortions either after a certain point in pregnancy – 22 set the cutoff by the 24th week – or when the fetus is viable outside the womb (also about the 24th week), according to the Guttmacher Institute.
He added: ‘Obviously, microcephaly is a awful prenatal condition that kids are born with. I’m not pretending to you that that’s an easy question you asked me.
This video includes images from Getty Images and clips from Marco Rubio for President, TVNBR, BBC, C-SPAN and ABC Music provided courtesy of APM Music.
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The Zika crisis highlights one problem with strict abortion laws in many US states today. Fifteen of them have had babies with Zika-affiliated birth defects. It’s equally important, though, to remember that, objectively, all women should have the right to choose whether to end of pregnancy or carry it to term, no matter the moral implications some attach to that.
