# **Gabbard On Abortion**
**_Highlights:_**
- When Tulsi Gabbard began her political career, she opposed abortion rights.
- Tulsi Gabbard opposed a Michigan ballot measure that created a right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
- Tulsi Gabbard campaigned for anti-abortion candidates, including Nancy Mace, Kari Lake, JD Vance, Tutor Dixon, Blake Masters, and Joe Kent.
- Tulsi Gabbard argued in favor of “some restrictions” on abortion care.
- Gabbard introduced legislation that would mandate medical care for infants who survived abortions.
- Advocates said this legislation was not necessary and could criminalize doctors.
- Tulsi Gabbard opposed abortion later in pregnancy.
## **Gabbard Was Initially Anti-Abortion**
### **Gabbard Opposed Abortion When She First Entered Politics**
**Gabbard Opposed Abortion When She First Entered Politics.** According to the New Yorker, “When Gabbard entered politics, she was only twenty-one, and in those early years she was a social conservative, pro-life and active in the fight against same-sex marriage.” \[New Yorker, [_11/6/17_](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe)\]
## **Gabbard Opposed A Michigan Ballot Measure To Create A Right To Reproductive Freedom**
### **Gabbard Urged Michiganders To Reject Proposal 3**
**Gabbard Said Michiganders Should Vote Against Proposal 3.** According to Gabbard’s Twitter, “I urge Michigan residents to protect women, parental rights & children by voting against Proposal 3 that includes loopholes to allow late-term/partial birth abortion (which is really infanticide) & overturns law to inform parents of a child pursuing abortion/hormone therapies.” \[Twitter - @TulsiGabbard, [_11/6/22_](https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1589212921355063296)\]
### **Proposal 3 Created A Right To Reproductive Freedom in The Michigan State Constitution**
**Michigan’s Proposal 3 Created A “Right To Reproductive Freedom” In The State Constitution.** According to NPR, “A year ago, Michigan Democrats celebrated the same kind of victory Ohio notched this week. Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3, a ballot measure proponents said would ‘#RestoreRoe’ by creating a ‘new individual right to reproductive freedom’ in the state constitution.” \[NPR, [_11/8/23_](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/08/1211347378/abortion-michigan-ohio-restrictions-rights)\]
## **Gabbard Backed Anti-Abortion Candidates**
### **Gabbard Campaigned For Nancy Mace**
**November 2022: Gabbard Campaigned For Nancy Mace.** According to Mace’s campaign Twitter, “‘Nancy is her own person in Washington, beholden to no one, getting the job done for you…’ - Tulsi Gabbard Huge crowd and fantastic night with @TulsiGabbard! She understands better than most what it takes to be an #IndependentVoice.” \[Twitter - @NancyMace, [_11/3/22_](https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1588332617233231875)\]
#### **_Mace Supported Abortion Bans, Including One To Ban Abortion After Just Six Weeks Of Pregnancy_**
**Mace Was Against Abortion In Most Cases And Supported A Bill Banning Abortion At Six Weeks Of Pregnancy As Long As It Contained Exceptions.** According to the Associated Press, “Mace is against abortion in most cases and supported the fetal heartbeat bill as long as it contained the exception for rape and incest. She said her decision to reveal an attack that has haunted her for so long was intended to help male lawmakers understand the experience of those victims. ‘It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you are on, there are so many of us who share this trauma and this experience,’ Mace said in an interview. ‘Rape and incest are not partisan issues.’” \[Associated Press, [_5/19/19_](https://apnews.com/article/39d0aec6a7174d77bbf3353d2a8ba709)\]
**Mace Said She Was Not Opposed To Abortion Bans, But Wanted Republicans To Support Wide Exceptions For Victims Of Rape Or Incest.** According to The 19^th^, “Mace said she isn’t opposed to abortion bans but wants to see Republicans widely support exceptions for victims of rape or incest. She believes most voters would support an abortion ban between 15 and 24 weeks. She wants to introduce legislation to expand access to contraceptives, including over the counter, and praised a state-level proposal out of South Carolina that allows pharmacists to prescribe them. She said a national conversation about abortion should also address the country’s embattled and overburdened foster care system. ‘There needs to be an adjustment in the way that we talk about legislation and legislating. And the way that we show compassion to women, who may be in circumstances that you don’t understand,’ she said, pointing to a pregnancy resulting from rape, for example. ‘I’m pro-life but I’m trying to find some common ground here,’ she said.” \[The 19^th^, [_1/30/23_](https://19thnews.org/2023/01/nancy-mace-gop-abortion-agenda-voters/)\]
**Mace Said She Supported Abortion Until “15 Or 20 Weeks” Of Gestation With Exceptions For Victims Of Rape And Incest.** According to the Washington Post, “Mace has said she supports abortion until ‘15 or 20 weeks’ of gestation with exceptions for victims of rape and incest. For now, she faces no real test of that belief: Under McCarthy, Republican leadership privately indicated that they had no plans to bring a national abortion ban to the House floor. It remains to be seen whether Johnson will follow suit.” \[Washington Post, [_11/11/23_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/11/rep-nancy-mace-republican-house/)\]
### **Gabbard Endorsed J.D. Vance**
**November 2022: Gabbard Endorsed J.D. Vance.** According to Gabbard’s Twitter, “Tim Ryan represents everything that is wrong with the warmongering Washington Establishment. I’m endorsing @JDVance1 because he knows the cost of war, and that our government exists to serve the people, not the other way around.” \[Twitter - @TulsiGabbard, [_11/1/22_](https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1587432208737763330)\]
#### **_Vance Supported A Complete Ban On Abortion Including In Cases Of Rape And Incest, Situations He Referred To As “Inconvenient”_**
**Washington Post Headline: “Ohio Senate Candidate J.D. Vance Argues Against Need For Rape And Incest Exceptions In Abortion Laws”** \[Washington Post, [_9/24/21_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/vance-abortion-rape/2021/09/24/c3007318-1d32-11ec-8380-5fbadbc43ef8_story.html)\]
**Vance Defended Abortion Bans Without Exceptions For Rape, Calling Pregnancies Conceived During Rape Or Incest “Inconvenient.”** According to the Daily Beast, “In a local news interview published Wednesday, author and venture capitalist turned Senate candidate J.D. Vance suggested he would support prohibiting abortion even in cases of rape and incest—and dismissed those catalysts as ‘inconvenient.’ Asked by Curtis Jackson of Spectrum News 1 in Columbus, OH, whether a woman should be forced to give birth even if the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape, Vance replied that ‘the question betrays a certain presumption that’s wrong.’ ‘It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term; it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society,’ said Vance, who lags behind several Republican candidates in his Ohio primary.” \[Daily Beast, [_9/23/21_](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jd-vance-defends-texas-abortion-ban-calls-rape-inconvenient)\]
**AUDIO: Vance Said That He Was “Not A Fan” Of The “Various Exceptions” To Abortion Bans, Claiming That Fetuses Should Have Protection “From The Moment Of Conception.”** According to Relatable With Allie Beck Stuckey via SoundCloud, “VANCE: So, I’m a pretty down the life, pro-life conservative. I really always have been even when I drifted away from the church. I always just cared about the abortion issue a great deal. I think those Christian morals were still influencing me. So, I’m not a fan of the various exceptions that are placed in. I think, obviously, you know, there are situations where maybe the life of the mother is threatened or look, we obviously got to recognize that there are tough circumstances and tough decisions to be made. But I really think that from the moment of conception, we should be protecting the life of the unborn.” \[Relatable with Allie Beck Stuckey via SoundCloud, [_7/22/21_](https://soundcloud.com/samuelgooding20/jd-vance-relatable-with-allie-beck-stuckey-7222021/s-89c7T8JspKU?si=8a8af1c4ee014e60b91828aefa9017b8&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)\]
### **Gabbard Campaigned For Kari Lake**
**October 2022: Gabbard Campaigned For Kari Lake.** According to ABC News, “Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat and endorsed Joe Biden after her exit from the race, on Tuesday campaigned in Arizona for the state's Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, a fervent election denier Trump loyalist.” \[ABC News, [_10/19/22_](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrat-tulsi-gabbard-campaigns-trump-backed-kari-lake/story?id=91738996)\]
#### **_Lake On Abortion: “It Is Not Health Care. It Is The Killing, It Is The Sacrifice, It Is The Execution Of A Baby In The Mother's Womb, And It's Incredibly Sad”_**
**VIDEO: Lake On Abortion: “It Is Not Health Care. It Is The Killing, It Is The Sacrifice, It Is The Execution Of A Baby In The Mother's Womb, And It's Incredibly Sad.”** According to Newsmax via YouTube, “LAKE: But can you imagine, Benny, having that much vitriol and being like that and supporting the killing of innocent babies in the mother's womb? It's just, I hope someday they wake up to the lies they've been fed about abortion. It is not, it is not health care. It is the killing, it is the sacrifice, it is the execution of a baby in the mother's womb, and it's incredibly sad.” \[Newsmax via YouTube, [_5/5/22_](https://youtu.be/KGqDo5fewbY)\]
**Lake: “Killing A Baby Who Is In The Mother’s Womb Is Not Healthcare.”** According to Lake’s Twitter, “Killing a baby who is in the mother’s womb is not healthcare. This is so depressing and sad.” Quote Tweet TownHall.com @TownHallCom · Dec 1 “WATCH: Pro-abortion activists take abortion pills outside of the Supreme Court.” \[Twitter, - @KariLake, [_12/1/21_](https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1466205920501780481)\]
### **Gabbard Campaigned For Tudor Dixon**
**October 2022: Gabbard Campaigned For Tudor Dixon.** According to MLive, “In Saturday campaign speeches, Tudor Dixon and Shane Hernandez, GOP candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, echoed similar statements made throughout the election cycle, primarily focusing on education and policing, topics important to loyal Republicans. But the presence of newly independent and former Hawaiian congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in this weekend’s trips across metro-Detroit show they are trying to gain votes of independents in the last days before the Nov. 8 election.” \[MLive, [_10/29/22_](https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/10/former-democratic-congresswoman-joins-dixon-courting-independent-voters-as-midterms-loom.html)\]
#### **_Dixon Opposed Abortion, Including In Instances Of Rape Or Incest_**
**Dixon Opposed Abortion And Did Not Support Exceptions For Rape And Incest.** According to the Detroit Free Press, “Dixon's opposition to abortion does not include exceptions for rape or incest. She supports the use of public dollars to pay private school tuition, which is banned under the state constitution and most recently rejected by voters — 69% to 31% — in a 2000 referendum. And she has made the illogical claim that Whitmer supports rapists and cartels because she allowed the federal government to temporarily house, at an Albion facility run by a nonprofit group, unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the southern border.” \[Detroit Free Press, [_1/12/22_](https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/01/12/tudor-dixon-michigan-governor-republican-candidate/6002813001/?gnt-cfr=1)\]
### **Gabbard Campaigned For Blake Masters**
**October 2022: Gabbard Campaigned For Blake Masters.** According to News Nation, “A week after announcing she would leave the Democratic Party, Tulsi Gabbard was on the campaign trail in Arizona alongside Republicans Kari Lake and Blake Masters.” \[News Nation, [_10/21/22_](https://www.newsnationnow.com/the-whole-story-media-bias/tulsi-gabbard-stumps-for-republicans-lake-masters-in-az/)\]
#### **_Masters Compared Abortion To “Genocide”_**
**Masters Said That “There’s A Genocide Happening In America” Due To Roe V. Wade.** According to The Daily Wire, “Masters continued that trend on Thursday by releasing a campaign video imploring the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade. Masters said the country needed to ‘get back to not killing babies’ and provided a special emphasis on the impact that abortion has had on the black community. ‘There’s a genocide happening in America. Under Roe v. Wade, the federal government recognizes a ‘right’ to kill babies in the womb,’ Masters stated in the video. ‘And so every year, hundreds of thousands of young lives are destroyed.’ ‘Thirty percent of black babies are aborted in this country. We’re talking 20 million babies since 1973. We got to get back to not killing babies,” he added. “And it starts with overturning Roe.’” \[Daily Wire, [_12/2/21_](https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-senate-candidate-theres-a-genocide-happening-in-america-end-it-by-overturning-roe)\]
### **Gabbard Campaigned For Joe Kent**
#### **_October 2022: Gabbard Campaigned For Joe Kent In Washington State_**
**October 2022: Gabbard Campaigned With Joe Kent, Republican Candidate Running Against Democrat Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez In Washington’s Third District.** According to the Chronicle, “Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard made a stop in Bucoda Sunday afternoon to campaign alongside Joe Kent, the Republican candidate facing Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the race to represent Washington’s 3rd congressional district.” \[Chronicle, [_10/24/22_](https://www.chronline.com/stories/after-leaving-democratic-party-tulsi-gabbard-campaigns-with-fellow-veteran-joe-kent-in,302310)\]
**Gabbard Recognized Kent As A “Fellow Veteran” And Criticized The Biden Administration And Democrats.** According to the Chronicle, “‘The reason I am here and not back home in Hawaii is because our very freedom and our very future is at stake in this election,’ Gabbard told the crowd in Bucoda. ‘And I do not use those words lightly.’ After recognizing Kent as a ‘fellow veteran,’ she said the Biden administration and Democrats are undermining ‘God-given rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution,’ saying they are working with large technology companies and social media to do so.” \[Chronicle, [_10/24/22_](https://www.chronline.com/stories/after-leaving-democratic-party-tulsi-gabbard-campaigns-with-fellow-veteran-joe-kent-in,302310)\]
#### **_Kent Supported A National Abortion Ban_**
**Kent Said, “I Would Move To Have A National Ban On Abortion.”** According to an interview on KGW News via YouTube, “ANCHOR: This is top of mind for a lot of people right now. Do you support the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a woman’s right to have an abortion? KENT: Yes, I 100% support Roe v. Wade being overturned. I would move to have a national ban on abortions. I believe life begins at conception. I think we have to have a pro-life culture in our country that takes care of women who are pregnant who might not necessarily want the baby.” \[KGW News via YouTube, [_7/28/22_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzT77Xb5aPE&t=937s)\]
**Kent Said He Would Vote For Senator Lindsey Graham’s Federal Abortion Ban If It Came Up In The House And That He Was “Pro-Life, 100 Percent.”** According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Miller: Last month, Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortion at 15 weeks. That was in the Senate. Would you vote for that ban if it were in the house? Kent: I think it’s a waste of time because the Supreme Court is just going to rebuke us. Now, if I’m put on the record and that bill makes it to the floor, I am always gonna vote for life. I am pro-life, 100 percent, like that’s it. But, at the end of the day, it would mostly be performative." \[Oregon Public Broadcasting, [_10/27/22_](https://www.opb.org/article/2022/10/28/washingtons-3rd-congressional-district-debate-republican-joe-kent-and-democrat-marie-gluesenkamp-perez/)\]
#### **_2022: Kent Called Himself “Pro-Life”_**
**2022: Kent Said, "It’s No Mystery. I’m Pro-Life. I Believe Life Begins At Conception. I Pray For An End To Abortion. I Pray That Abortion Ends Every Day.”** According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, “Kent: So Roe v. Wade was just overturned. It’s back at the state level. The Supreme Court has ruled that this is no longer a federal issue. Now look, it’s no mystery. I’m pro-life. I believe life begins at conception. I pray for an end to abortion. I pray that abortion ends every day.” \[Oregon Public Broadcasting, [_10/27/22_](https://www.opb.org/article/2022/10/28/washingtons-3rd-congressional-district-debate-republican-joe-kent-and-democrat-marie-gluesenkamp-perez/)\]
## **Gabbard Said There Should Be “Some Restrictions” On Abortion**
### **Gabbard Called For “Some Restrictions” On Abortion**
**Gabbard Said There Should Be “Some Restrictions” On Abortion.** According to the Washington Examiner, “‘I take a more libertarian position on this issue that government really shouldn’t be in that place of dictating to a woman the choice that she should make,’ Gabbard began. ‘I think there should be some restrictions, though.’” \[Washington Examiner, [_9/9/19_](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2090361)\]
### **Gabbard Introduced Legislation Mandating Care For Infants Who Survived Abortions**
**Gabbard Introduced Legislation To Mandate Medical Care For Infants Who Survived Abortions.** According to Fox News, “Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, appears to be defying her party's leadership again as she introduced a law mandating medical care for infants who survive abortions, a measure that appeared to be similar to one her party blocked earlier this year. Introduced on Wednesday, H.R. 8923 would amend U.S. criminal code ‘to ensure a health care practitioner exercises the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.’” \[Fox News, [_12/10/20_](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-dem-introduces-born-alive-amendment-to-protect-infants-who-survive-abortions)\]
#### **_So-Called “Born-Alive” Legislation Would Unnecessarily Criminalize Doctors_**
**Vox: “Reproductive Rights And Physician Groups Say The Bill Could Criminalize Doctors And Is Unnecessary.”** According to Vox, “The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday is hearing testimony on a bill that would put in place requirements for the care of infants born after failed abortions — and could send doctors to prison if they fail to comply \[…\] But reproductive rights and physician groups say the bill could criminalize doctors and is unnecessary — not only because a live birth after an abortion attempt is an extremely unlikely scenario but also because laws already exist to protect an infant in this instance anyway. ‘The bill maligns and vilifies providers and patients to push a false narrative about abortion later in pregnancy,’ Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Vox in an email last year.” \[Vox, [_2/25/19_](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/25/18239964/born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-2020-sasse)\]
**Abortions Later In Pregnancy Were Very Rare, And Were Not Requested By Patients In Labor.** According to Vox, “Abortions in the third trimester are very rare: Just 1.4 percent of all abortions take place at 21 weeks or beyond, according to Planned Parenthood. The situation described in the Virginia committee hearing simply doesn’t come up, Brandi said — ‘patients do not request abortion when they are in labor and doctors do not provide it.’” \[Vox, [_2/25/19_](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/25/18239964/born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-2020-sasse)\]
**Protections Existed For Babies Born After An Attempted Abortion.** According to Vox, “Even if a child were to be born after an abortion attempt, she said, laws already exist to protect the baby. In 2002, Congress passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which guaranteed full legal rights to infants born at any stage of development. That bill, which passed with bipartisan support, did not include criminal penalties for doctors and did not impose specific requirements on medical care.” \[Vox, [_2/25/19_](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/25/18239964/born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-2020-sasse)\]
## **Gabbard Spoke Out Against Abortion Later In Pregnancy**
### **Gabbard Said She Opposed Abortions Later In Pregnancy In Most Cases**
**Gabbard Said She Opposed Abortions Later In Pregnancy Unless The Mother’s Life Was Endangered.** According to the Washington Examiner, “2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard came out against third-trimester abortions unless the mother’s life is endangered. \[…\] She continued, ‘I think the third trimester, unless a woman’s life or severe health consequences is at risk, then there shouldn’t be an abortion in the third trimester.’” \[Washington Examiner, [_9/9/19_](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2090361)\]
**Gabbard Said She Supported Restricting Abortions Later In Pregnancy.** According to CNN via Gabbard’s Twitter, “GABBARD: I do, however, think there should be some restrictions in place. I do support codifying Roe v. Wade, while making sure that during the third trimester, abortion is not an option, unless the life or severe health consequences of the woman are at risk.” \[CNN via Twitter - @TulsiGabbard, [_10/15/19_](https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1184307727956434944)\]