House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dodged a question on abortion at her press conference about whether an “unborn baby at 15 weeks is a human being,” instead she reiterated her support for abortion. “Let me just say that I am a big supporter of Roe v. Wade. I am a mother of five children in six years. I think I have some standing on this issue as to respecting a woman’s right to choose,”
The question asked to Pelosi was a reference to the Supreme Court planning to take up a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks. The law was struck down by a federal judge in 2018 and again by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019, a conservative court that handles cases in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Both Pelosi and President Biden have come under fire for their stances on abortion from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church does teach that abortion is a sin but the Democratic Party has supported the right to abortion. Pelosi and Biden both support ending the Hyde Amendment, which bans the federal funding of abortion.
Pelosi came under fire from the bishop of her hometown, who said that those who support abortion should be denied communion, “If you find that you are unwilling or unable to abandon your advocacy for abortion, you should not come forward to receive Holy Communion,” said San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Biden was denied communion while campaigning in South Carolina in 2019 during the Democratic primaries.
Pelosi’s answer to the question was criticized by Senator Ted Cruz who tweeted that it was “barbaric” that Pelosi did not give a straight answer.
