In a poised and assertive appearance on Fox News Sunday, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz deftly navigated a grilling from host Shannon Bream on abortion rights, refusing to be derailed by efforts to frame the issue in extremes. When Bream pushed Walz to answer whether Democrats would allow abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, Walz calmly labeled the question a “distraction” from the real issue at hand: protecting women’s reproductive rights and their ability to make decisions with their healthcare providers.
Walz, who has been a strong advocate for abortion rights in his role as Minnesota’s governor, made it clear that his focus—and that of the Democratic Party—is on restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade. He firmly rejected the idea that Democrats are pushing for unrestricted abortion up until birth, pointing out that such claims have been repeatedly debunked.
“I have been clear. The restoration of Roe versus Wade is what we’re asking,” Walz stated, cutting through the noise. He reiterated that the law is already very clear on the issue and that Republicans are using extreme hypotheticals to distract from their own harmful policies. Bream, however, continued to press, claiming that the abortion protections Walz helped enshrine in Minnesota’s statutes last year did not include any limits throughout the pregnancy. But Walz didn’t flinch.
“This puts the decision with the woman and her healthcare providers,” Walz responded, staying on message and refusing to let the conversation be twisted into a fear-mongering narrative. He pointed out that removing such healthcare decisions from doctors and patients creates dangerous situations, like those in Texas, where women’s lives have been put at risk due to restrictive abortion laws. “When you don’t have the ability of healthcare providers to provide that, that’s where you end up with a situation in Texas, where they are afraid to do what’s necessary,” he said.
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Walz did not shy away from criticizing the devastating consequences of restrictive abortion policies, highlighting the shocking maternal mortality rates in states like Texas. “Women being forced into miscarriages, women being forced to go back home, get sepsis, potentially die. Maternal mortality rates in Texas have skyrocketed off the charts because of this. This is bad policy,” he stressed, exposing the real harm caused by Republican anti-abortion laws.
The conversation then turned to Donald Trump’s stance on abortion, with Walz accusing Trump of aiming to go even further by signing an “outright nationwide ban” if given the chance. When Bream asked if Walz was calling Trump’s claims of vetoing such a ban a lie, he didn’t hesitate. “Yes, of course. And Senator Vance has in the past said so too,” Walz shot back.
Walz ended the interview by driving home the point that reproductive rights should not be politicized. “They may see this as an election issue. We see it as a right of women to make their own bodily decisions,” he asserted, making it clear that the majority of Americans support reproductive freedom, and that Republicans’ continued efforts to control women’s bodies are out of step with the public’s priorities.
With his calm demeanor and unwavering commitment to women’s rights, Walz stood firm against the right-wing narrative, leaving no doubt where he stands on the fundamental issue of reproductive health.
Here’s a clip from the interview below:
Featured image via screengrab/YouTube
