Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and liberal Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov clashed Thursday over the topic if late-term abortion bills and whether women’s reproductive health should include “the death of a baby.”
Huckabee (pictured above left) and Tarlov (above right) appeared on Fox News’ “Outnumbered.” The two debated the recent string of late-term abortion bills that New York, Virginia and Rhode Island have considered.
New York passed legislation on January 22 allowing abortions up until the time of birth. The state’s Reproductive Health Act earned a standing ovation as New York lawmakers celebrated its passage on the 46th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
A video also surfaced this week of Virginia delegate Kathy Tran (D) defending the abortion bill she sponsored.
A Republican lawmaker asked Tran if her bill allowed abortions up until the moment a mother was giving birth — as she was “dilating.” Tran replied, “My bill would allow that, yes.”
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) shocked pro-life advocates on Wednesday when he appeared to defend infanticide.
The Virginia Public Access Project revealed that Northam received $1,996,346 in donations from Planned Parenthood over the years.
Northam argued during an interview captured on video that third-trimester abortions are done with “the consent of obviously the mother, with consent of the physician,” when “there may be severe deformities or there may be a fetus that’s not viable.”
“So in this particular example if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the infant would be delivered,” Northam went on during an interview with WTOP, which was videotaped. “The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
Northam and some pro-abortion advocates accused conservatives of misrepresenting his words and skewing them. Tarlov lamented that it is “my fate in life on the [‘Outnumbered’] couch to be the one to defend Gov. Northam’s comments.”
Tarlov argued that the bills “do a lot of good in protecting a woman’s right to control her own body and what the Supreme Court intended with Roe vs. Wade here.”
She also insisted that killing a child during the third trimester isn’t murder. Tarlov said murder must come “with malice.”
“And these late-term abortions are occurring when the life of the mother or the life of the fetus is in danger,” Tarlov insisted. “And Gov. Northam’s clarification made clear that the baby he was discussing was not viable.”
“So this isn’t about leaving babies to die,” Tarlov claimed. “This is about women’s reproductive health.”
Huckabee demanded, “What is reproductive about the death of a baby?”
Tarlov fired back, “But it’s not the death of a baby, Governor. That’s not a viable fetus.”
“Viability is interpretive,” Huckabee said.
Tarlov replied, “Really? Because I thought viability meant is it going to live or is it not going to live.”
“If it lives, it lives. If it doesn’t, then let God be the judge,” Huckabee responded. “But I thought Democrats believed in science? Biologically, it is not a part of a woman’s body. If it was, it would have the exact DNA of a woman. It would have the same blood type. It doesn’t. It is a distinct, unique human being from the moment of conception.”
Related: Trump, Pence Condemn the ‘Evil’ Late-Term Abortion Moves of Democrats
Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner steered the heated conversation back to Northam’s comments.
“[Northam] said it’s the beginning of life. The baby has already been delivered,” Faulkner noted.
Tarlov defended Northam, insisting that the hypothetical baby had been born but “can’t live on its own.”
Huckabee also rebuked Northam and the Democrats who are pushing these bills during an interview Wednesday night on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
“The big picture is we are coming to a place where we are saying some people aren’t worth as much as other people. That there is such a thing as a life that’s expendable, disposable, that you can throw it away like you would throw away a piece of trash,” Huckabee said.
“I find that revolting,” he added.
Huckabee said there is “never a need for” late-term abortions.
“This is just revolting. And I pray to God we come to a better decision on how we treat other people,” Huckabee said.
Check out more in the video below:
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