Texas Governor Greg Abbott made a highly controversial statement during a Wednesday edition of CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, claiming that Democrats are trying to “murder babies” through their abortion policies.
Abbott referenced reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, recently chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, opposed a state law mandating medical care for infants who survive abortions. He suggested that Walz’s position reflects a broader Democratic agenda aimed at killing infants.
“That’s something that needs to be looked into if he’s against that, because that would be another horrific policy by the Democrats and their zeal to try to kill young babies,” Abbott said.
Abbott’s remarks echo similar rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who has falsely accused Democrats of supporting the “execution” of babies. Reproductive health experts and fact-checkers like PolitiFact have consistently debunked these claims, noting that it is medically impossible to perform an abortion once labor has begun.
In the same interview, Tapper confronted Abbott with a recent study showing a 12.9% surge in infant deaths in Texas between 2021 and 2022, following the implementation of the state’s strict abortion ban. The study also highlighted an 8.3% increase in infant mortality rates in Texas, compared to a 1.8% increase in infant deaths and a 2.2% increase in infant mortality rates in the rest of the U.S. during the same period.
When asked if he was concerned about these troubling statistics, Abbott claimed ignorance of the study and instead reiterated the misleading notion that Harris supports abortions “up until the very last second before a fully developed child” is born—a scenario that Tapper pointed out amounts to infanticide and does not occur in practice.
“That’s late-term abortion. That baby can definitely feel the pain. That definitely, the baby who, if it survives one more minute —,” Abbott said.
He did not provide any evidence to support his claims.
