“No-Limits” on Abortion for Democratic Presidential Duo

the Harris Walz ticket. >> We're joined now by Gabrielle Edsel, health care policy reporter for the Washington Examiner. Gabrielle, welcome to the show. How does the selection of Waltz as VP affect the ticket on the issue of abortion ? The Democrat ticket, of course, Waltz's candidacy for vice president is a very strong signal for, for Harris's Democratic base here on on the issue of abortion. >> Harris is strongest issue is when she is communicating about abortion rights and reproductive health care in general. That's where when she struggles with a likability problem or relatability problem. And when she's speaking about abortion, that's where she shines as the most authentic self. So choosing choosing Waltz is a strong complement to that. And he also has a much clearer track record on his overwhelming support for abortion rights, in comparison to other, other candidates that were on the short list, like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. >> Right. He has been called extreme on abortion. Well, how does his local leadership in Minnesota reflect on what we could see should they win in November ? >> Waltz has a very, a very dogged stance when it comes to abortion . When he was reelected for governor in 2022, he his state in the Democratic leadership in the House, in the House and Senate there as well, instituted their their fundamental right to abortion in January 2023, as soon as they came, into the legislative session that year, so there they also took steps to that spring to attack crisis pregnancy centers, pregnancy resource centers, as well as protect doctors who provided provide abortions to patients out of state, as well as patients for who come into the state of Minnesota, from states that that have abortion bans. So his administration in Minnesota has been centrally focused on on the issue of abortion. And you can definitely see that come through in his in his promises for the vice presidency . >> Is there anything that you can tell us about policies for children? I know that some have said that he has pushed the transgender ideology, transgender agenda in his state as well. >> Yes, he has, and it's becoming more, more and more clear that he he is he's very much a progressive on, on all of these social issues, with, with transgender care as well as abortion. But you can you can definitely see it, most his, his policies, most you can definitely see most, most of all that his his progressive, his progressive ideology really shines when it comes to, unlimited abortion rights and a fundamental right to, to a fundamental right to abortion. >> Right. Creating that right. That doesn't necessarily exist, or at least we don't believe it exists. How do the policies that he promotes put women in danger? When you're talking about domestic violence or human trafficking ? >> Sure. Well, the main issue there, in, at least in my estimation, is the removal of informed consent policies. >> This is this is a major issue across the across the nation. But but as well as in Minnesota, the waltz as governor. Removed informed consent policies, in April 2023. And ultimately that that means that patients aren't informed of, of potential complications, whether that's from the abortion pill mifepristone and misoprostol or that's the complications from a surgical abortion, a DNC , so which is also out of keeping with every other, every other medical procedure, that, that you could name, I have, I speak to a lot of doctors regularly, and they're just, they're, they're aghast, especially if they're, they're unfamiliar with, with abortion protocol that we can just remove informed consent policies, and that's not even going into removing informed consent about fetal development, fetal anatomy. At each stage of pregnancy, not even getting into the issue of life. Just just basic biology, it's quite frightening. >> Absolutely. Well, we'll be watching that closely. And we're grateful for your reporting.