U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra falsely claimed there is no law banning partial-birth abortions on Wednesday.
When asked whether he would uphold a law banning partial-birth abortions during the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee hearing, Becerra denied there was a law against it.
“There is no law that deals specifically with the term partial-birth abortions,” Becerra told Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis.
Becerra also claimed that “there is no medical term like partial-birth abortion.”
“Roe v. Wade is a very clear, settled precedent and a woman has a right to make decisions about her reproductive health, and we will make sure that we forced the laws protect those rights,” Beccera said.
Becerra claimed: "There is no law that deals specifically with the term Partial-Birth Abortion."
But that’s exactly what U.S. Code § 1531 does:
Read the law: https://t.co/SnIMotOrQl pic.twitter.com/WzEGPApbI0
— Susan B. Anthony List #ModernizeOurLaw (@SBAList) May 12, 2021
Despite Becerra’s assertion, there are laws that define partial-birth abortions. Not only does the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 characterize it, but the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the law and its definition in Gonzales v. Carhart.
According to the law, partial-birth abortion is “an abortion in which a physician deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living, unborn child’s body until either the entire baby’s head is outside the body of the mother, or any part of the baby’s trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother and only the head remains inside the womb, for the purpose of performing an overt act (usually the puncturing of the back of the child’s skull and removing the baby’s brains) that the person knows will kill the partially delivered infant.”
Becerra previously dodged questions about his stance on partial-birth abortions during his Senate confirmation hearing in February
“You voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion. Why?” Sen. Mitt Romney asked.
“I understand that people have different deeply held beliefs on this issue. … We may not always agree on where to go, but I think we can find some common ground,” the former California attorney general said.
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser condemned Becerra’s comments and said the HHS Secretary works hand-in-glove with the White House to expand abortion on demand.
“Becerra can hardly plead ignorance on this topic. As a freshman congressman, he voted against the ban. This shameless lie is standard for the most radical pro-abortion administration in history. It should not be hard to recognize that partially delivering a baby and then suctioning his or her brain is not only illegal, but utterly inhumane,” Dannenfelser said.
