Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersCanada's Conservatives show how dangerously skewed US politics have become The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by National Industries for the Blind - Biden's .5 trillion plan will likely have to shrink This week: Democrats kick off chaotic fall with Biden's agenda at stake MORE (I-Vt.) joined other 2020 Democratic hopefuls on Sunday in pledging to only nominate Supreme Court justices that support the Roe v. Wade decision protecting abortion rights.
“If you’re asking me would I ever appoint a Supreme Court justice who does not believe in defending Roe vs. Wade, who does not believe that a woman has the right to control her own body, I will never do that," Sanders said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
He also condemned a new Alabama law that will ban abortion except when there is a threat to the mother's life.
“What they did in Alabama was unbelievable,” he said. “The idea that women in this country should not be able to control their own bodies is beyond belief.”
Fellow 2020 Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten GillibrandHochul tells Facebook to 'clean up the act' on abortion misinformation after Texas law Democratic senators request probe into Amazon's treatment of pregnant employees The FBI comes up empty-handed in its search for a Jan. 6 plot MORE (D-N.Y.) said last week that she would only appoint justices that support the Roe v. Wade ruling. Sen. Cory Booker
Cory BookerFighting poverty, the Biden way Top Senate Democrats urge Biden to take immediate action on home confinement program Overnight Health Care: CDC officially recommends COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who is pregnant | Pressure builds for full FDA approval | Dems call for pandemic funding MORE (D-N.J.), another 2020 candidate, then told Buzzfeed he would do the same.
A number of presidential candidates have also said they would like to see Congress pass a law enshrining the rights outlined in Roe v. Wade.
The debate on the issue heated last week when Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the abortion ban into law. Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a "heartbeat" abortion bill that would ban the procedure around six weeks into pregnancy. Other states have also recently considered and passed laws to limit abortion rights.
Sanders and Gillibrand are among two dozen people vying for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination.
