During the first official GOP debate of the presidential election, Mike Huckabee came out swinging against reproductive rights — and said that the U.S. needs to go beyond defunding women's healthcare programs. Instead, he wants to fight for the rights of fetuses.
"A lot of people are talking about defunding Planned Parenthood as if that's a big game-changer," presidential hopeful Huckabee said in response to a question about Planned Parenthood and abortion. "I think it's time to do something even more bold. I think the next president ought to invoke the fifth and 14th amendments to the Constitution. Now that we clearly know that that baby inside the mother's womb is a person at the moment of conception."
Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, went on to say that there is "clear scientific evidence" behind his argument, and that he would like to give unborn children due process and equal protection under the law. "It's time that we recognize the Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being, and we change the policy to be pro-life and protect children instead of rip up their body parts and sell them like they're parts to a Buick.”
Never mind the allusion to the blatantly, undeniably false video targeted against Planned Parenthood: Huckabee's statement basically asserts that the Supreme Court should have no power to determine what constitutes a person — which is essentially an argument to overturn Roe v. Wade. That landmark 1973 decision ruled that a fetus is not a person, and that the decision to abort belongs to woman.
Personhood laws have been rejected by American voters time and time again. Clearly, Huckabee hasn't let that fact change his mind — which might mean that he's not the best person to represent the actual interests of the people. Watch his full response below.
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