Marco Rubio has been one of the most outspoken presidential candidates on abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood. And, crucially, he has been one of the most consistent in his stance. Many Pro-Lifers took notice last week when Rubio pulverized the weak stance of a CNN anchor who was playing devil’s advocate on behalf of the radical abortion movement (surprise, surprise), which claims that there is scientific ambiguity about when Life begins. Rubio did not take the bait for one second:
On Friday, Rubio was a guest on Glenn Beck’s podcast, Beck Blitz. The two discussed international crises and, of course, rehashed Rubio’s epic performance on CNN. Beck mentioned Rubio’s unapologetic position that rape does not constitute grounds to end a human Life – a position that not all of his fellow candidates hold. Rubio, a firm incrementalist on abortion, will support legislation with the exception in order to make substantive strides toward the complete eradication of abortion in America. The exception, he explains, is for him an unfortunate concession and decidedly not an ideological belief that the value of Life hinges on the circumstances of conception. Here’s what he told Glenn Beck:
It’s not a political issue, this whole abortion debate. I believe a human being is entitled to life, irrespective of the circumstances in which that human being was conceived in and so forth. And in order to be ideologically consistent, I hold that position that you’ve just outlined [that abortion is not justifiable in cases of rape].
“I personally feel this very, very strongly, that every human life is entitled to the protection of our laws,” he went on to say. Rubio pointed out the “slippery, dangerous slope” that America faces when we view ourselves as arbiters of the Right to Life, deciding “which lives we will protect and which lives we will not.” Rubio iterated that future generations of Americans will look back on this historical time period in the future and say that we were “barbarians” for our gratuitous abortion practices. He told Beck:
I actually think, in 100 years or so, or less, future generations will look back at this time in history and say it’s really unbelievable that so many unborn human beings, their lives were ended, simply because they didn’t have a birth certificate, couldn’t hire a lawyer, didn’t vote, or we couldn’t see them yet. And I just feel very strongly about that. And again, for me, it’s not a political issue. It’s an issue that speaks to the core of our values.
Listen to Rubio’s full conversation with Beck here.