Rubio tweaks stance on abortion

Clinton camp not convinced he supports some exceptions

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., now says that, as president, he would sign a bill that has abortion exceptions. “I’ve supported bills that have exceptions,” he said.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., now says that, as president, he would sign a bill that has abortion exceptions. “I’ve supported bills that have exceptions,” he said.

WASHINGTON -- When Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio staked out his position on abortion in the first GOP debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton took notice.

The Democratic front-runner said Rubio's assertion that he did not support abortion exceptions for victims of rape and incest was "offensive and troubling." At Clinton's Brooklyn campaign headquarters, aides saw echoes of the abortion comments by other GOP candidates that hurt Republicans with women voters during the 2012 election.

Since then, Rubio has been finessing his statements. In an interview, Rubio said he unequivocally backs abortion exceptions when the life of the mother is in danger. He said he also would back legislation with allowances for cases of rape and incest -- even though he personally doesn't support those exceptions.

"I, as president, will sign a bill that has exceptions," he said. "I've supported bills that have exceptions."

"I do not personally require a bill to have exceptions -- other than life of the mother -- in order for me to support it," Rubio added. "But I will sign a bill as president that has exceptions."

While Rubio's policy position remains the same, his tone and emphasis in the interview were notably different from the August GOP debate, when he bristled at a question suggesting he supported allowing women to end pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest.

"I have never said that," Rubio said at the time. "And I have never advocated that. What I have advocated is that we pass laws in this country that say all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection."

Rubio's advisers deny there's been a conscious effort to make his views on abortion more palatable to a general election audience.

"We really do welcome a debate on life in both the primary and general election," said Alex Conant, Rubio's communications director.

Clinton's campaign welcomes the discussion, too.

"Marco Rubio joins much of the Republican field in opposing a woman's right to control her own health care decisions, even in the case of rape and incest," said Christina Reynolds, Clinton's deputy communications director. "No attempt to mislead on his record will change the fact that his agenda on women's health is dangerously out of touch and out of date."

Democrats' early focus on Rubio's abortion position underscores the party's view that he would pose a formidable challenge to Clinton in the general election. The 44-year-old son of Cuban immigrants has a compelling life story and optimistic campaign message. He's been casting the 2016 election as a generational fight, a strategy aimed not just at his older Republican rivals but also at Clinton.

Rubio has supported legislation making allowances for abortion, including a 2013 bill that banned abortions after 20 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. Still, the senator has a top rating from the National Right to Life organization. During his 2010 Senate campaign in Florida, he repeatedly called for overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Rubio says he sees an opportunity to turn the abortion debate around on Clinton in a general election. He cast her as the one out of step with most Americans because she has been more permissive of abortions and did not vote for a ban on partial-birth abortion when she was in the Senate.

"Hillary Clinton basically believes there should be no restrictions on abortion," Rubio said in an interview. "Those are radical, out of touch views that she has and I relish the opportunity to expose her radicalism."

According to a new federal report released Wednesday, abortions in the U.S. have been in a general decline for about 25 years.

The number of reported abortions dropped 4 percent in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. About 699,000 abortions were reported to the federal government that year. That's about 31,000 fewer than the year before.

Experts offered various reasons for the recent drop: better use of birth control and the lingering effects of the economic recession. Others say there's been a cultural shift and more women opt to continue their pregnancies.

In 2012, the abortion rate fell 5 percent to 13 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. That is about half what it was in 1974, the year after the landmark Supreme Court decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.

The CDC data are not a complete national picture. It's based on reports from health departments in 47 states, Washington, D.C., and New York City. California, Maryland and New Hampshire don't report abortion numbers.

Information for this article was contributed by Emily Swanson and Mike Stobbe of The Associated Press.

A Section on 11/26/2015

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