Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has once again changed his stance on abortion, saying he supports abortion up to a point, not until the end of his term.
Following pressure campaign team, Kennedy announced on Friday that he was backtracking on his stance on supporting “full-term abortions” in a statement released on X. “Abortion has been a notoriously divisive issue in America, but I actually see an emerging consensus – abortion should be legal until a certain number of weeks, and restricted after that,” he said.
“Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and deserve the protection of society,” he added.
Kennedy’s latest change of heart on his stance on this controversial issue comes after he said last week that he would allow women to have full-term abortions.
During an interview with podcaster Sage Steele, a former ESPN host, Kennedy was asked what the threshold should be for women to have an abortion. “Should there be a limit or are you saying that until full term, a woman has the right to have an abortion?” Steele asked.
Kennedy responded that he didn’t think anyone would want to do that at eight months pregnant, but abortion should be out of the government’s hands and into women’s hands.
“Even if it’s term,” Kennedy said in response to a follow-up question. “I don’t think everything is ever okay,” he added. When Steele said it would allow late-term abortions, Kennedy said, “I think we have to leave that up to the women and not the state.”
The answer left his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, surprised during her interview with Steele, released a week earlier.
“My understanding of Bobby’s position is that, you know, every abortion is a tragedy, it’s a loss of life,” Shanahan said. “My understanding is that he absolutely believes in the limits of abortion, and we’ve talked about that. I don’t think so, I don’t know where that came from.”
Shanahan continued: “That’s not my understanding of his position and I think maybe there was a miscommunication there.”
Kennedy’s latest clarification comes after the candidate previously said he would support a much stricter stance on abortion.
During an interview with NBC News last August, Kennedy said that, if elected, he would support signing a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy, before his campaign walked back the comments.
Kennedy told NBC News, “I believe the decision to abort a child should be up to women during the first three months of life.” Pressed on whether that meant signing a federal ban in 15 or 21 weeks, he said yes.
The Kennedy campaign later released a statement saying the candidate “misunderstood” repeated questions on the issue.
“Mr. Kennedy misunderstood a question posed to him by an NBC reporter in a crowded and noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair,” a spokesperson said, clarifying the candidate’s stance on abortion as “always.” a woman’s right to choose. Kennedy “does not support legislation that bans abortion,” the campaign added at the time.
Kennedy and Shanahan are scheduled to speak at a campaign rally in Austin, TX, on Monday. This is the first time the two have appeared together in person since Kennedy announced that Shanahan would join his campaign as his vice presidential selection.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
