Presidential hopeful Robert Francis O'Rourke dodged on whether or not people who hold pro-life views are welcome in the Democratic party, saying that he thinks it is unlikely that the party will ever nominate a candidate who does "not believe in a woman's right to choose" on abortion.
O'Rourke's comments came during a Sunday morning interview on ABC's This Week, following former Vice President Joe Biden's flip-flop on the Hyde Amendment, a decades-long ban on federally funded abortions. Host George Stephanopoulos asked O'Rourke for his opinion on the move.
"I can just tell you that I've always known what I thought on this issue: that every single woman in this country should be able to make her own decisions about her own body," O'Rourke said. "Every single session in the United States Congress I voted to repeal the Hyde Amendment. I co-sponsored legislation to do the same."
O'Rourke added that, if elected, he would nominate judges that would uphold Roe v. Wade and vigorously fight pro-life efforts of states.
"It's time for more men join the leadership that women have provided on this issue," he said. "I have consistently been there. As president, we do everything in our power to make sure we stand in women in every case."
"Is there any room in the democratic party for those who oppose abortion?" Stephanopoulos asked.
O'Rourke replied by saying that "access to care is critically important" in the "midst of a maternal mortality crisis in this country"
"It's very hard for me to believe that we could ever produce a nominee who would not believe in a woman's right to choose and the ability to stand and the mandate for us to stand with women in each and every instance," he said.
O'Rourke added that he believes abortion is "a core value not only of the Democratic party but the United States of America."