Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Monday night that though he defends a woman’s decision to choose abortion, the Democratic Party should not exclude people based on “litmus test issues.”
Bullock spoke at an event in Fort Madison, Iowa, where he discussed his thoughts on abortion. Bullock is running as a Democratic presidential candidate, but did not qualify for Wednesday’s debate.
“I am someone that has always defended a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” Bullock said, adding that he thinks this should be a woman’s decision “in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her faith if she so chooses.”
But Bullock emphasized that he does not think the Democratic Party should exclude people based on litmus tests. (RELATED: The Clintons Coined The Phrase ‘Safe, Legal And Rare,’ But Abortion Activists Say This Is Stigmatizing)
“But I also think that ours in not a party that should be excluding people based on any litmus test issues, and I can respect people who disagree with me on issues and listen to them without saying that we should we be slicing, dicing the electorate along the way,” Bullock added.
His statements came the same day the Democratic Attorneys General Association announced any Democratic candidate who wishes to receive an endorsement from them must “publicly commit to protecting the fundamental right that everyone should be able to make their own decision about their health care, including abortion.”
Abortion has become a litmus test for the Democratic presidential candidates, as most of them broadly promise unrestricted abortion access. Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is the only candidate to say she would restrict abortion access, but Gabbard only supports restrictions on abortions during the third trimester and removing the Hyde Amendment.
Bullock did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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