Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pushed back Friday morning on suggestions by Hillary Clinton and her allies that he didn’t think abortion was a serious issue, arguing “What Secretary Clinton did is take things out of context.”
“I am 100 percent pro-choice and will defend women’s right to choose,” Sanders told “Good Morning America” host David Muir.
Clinton’s latest line of attack focused on comments Sanders made in the wake of the outrage over Donald Trump’s Wednesday remark that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who seek abortions if the procedure was banned. Trump has since reversed that position.
Later that day, Sanders decried the media attention the Trump abortion comment was getting.
“Any stupid, absurd remark made by Donald Trump becomes the story of the week,” Sanders told MSNBC. “Maybe, just maybe, we might want to have a serious discussion about the serious issues facing America.”
By Thursday, Clinton was using Sanders’ comments about the abortion controversy against him, telling an audience in New York that “to me, this is a serious issue, and it is a serious discussion.”
The Sanders campaign initially responded by pointing to his voting record on the issue, a defense the senator reiterated Friday.
“Let’s put it into the context,” Sanders said. “Do I believe its a serious issue? I’ve been spending my entire political life fighting for the right of a woman to control her own body.”
Watch below:
