Late-term abortion is at the center of Republican efforts to reframe the debate as one in which Democrats take the more extreme position.

While some Democrats say they do not support "abortion up until birth," many have backed measures that would allow late-term abortions or even remove gestational restrictions altogether while characterizing Republicans as extremists on the broader issue.

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Anti-abortion groups such as SBA Pro-Life America have suggested Republicans flip the script on Democrats, particularly in light of political losses some say were the result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and highlight liberal support for controversial late-term abortions.

"Sadly, today’s Democratic Party allows for no dissent on abortion, refusing to list support for a single protection for babies in the womb," E.V. Osment, SBA Pro-Life America vice president of communications, told the Washington Examiner.

Former President Donald Trump has also made this argument, saying, "It's not the pro-life people that are radical; it's these people."

Democrats advocate "rip[ping] the baby out of the womb at the end of the ninth month; they will kill the baby in the ninth month," Trump said at his CNN town hall in May. He referred to a comment made by former Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in January 2019, where he advocated a pro-abortion bill being considered in the Virginia General Assembly.

"If a mother is in labor ... the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and mother," the Old Dominion Democrat, a pediatric neurologist, said at the time.

While he couched his language as referring to cases "where there may be severe deformities," the bill he was speaking about would have allowed a woman who is "about to give birth" and "dilating" to request an abortion if the birth would "impair the mental health of a woman," according to the bill's author.

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki recently said, "No one supports abortion up until birth," drawing rejoinders from Republicans who cited Democrats who have defended late-term abortions.

Osment called Psaki's comment "desperately out of touch with real-world data."

According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, formerly the research wing of Planned Parenthood but officially split off in 2007, about 1.3% of abortions in the U.S. are late-term. This translates to about 10,000 abortions per year.

Christopher M. Zahn of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Jenni Villavicencio of the Society of Family Planning, argued the position of abortion activists in their August 30 Washington Post letter to the editor, saying, "It must be available without restrictions, without limitations and without barriers."

Seven states — New Mexico, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Alaska — and the District of Columbia already have zero restrictions on abortion. Democrats have offered many measures at national and state levels to expand the abortion time frame.

Women's Health Protection Act

The Women's Health Protection Act, which passed the House but failed in the Senate when Democrats had control of both chambers last Congress, saw nearly unanimous support among Democrats.

The bill would supersede any state's abortion restrictions, including all gestational limits that exist in generally permissive states. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the only Democrat to vote against the bill in the Senate, said, "They’re trying to make people believe that this is the same thing as codifying Roe V. Wade. And I want you to know, it’s not. This is not the same. It expands abortion."

The House passed the bill with 218 Democrats supporting the changes. The legislation failed in the Senate by a margin of 51-49.

WHPA does have some form of restriction on paper, but those restrictions are often couched in vague terms such as "fetal viability" or where the "provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health."

Multiple abortionists have attested that those restrictions have wobbly definitions, as doctors are capable of determining an abortion is necessary for a wide variety of reasons.

"There is no particular gestational age," Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood's St. Louis Region, said of the definition of "viability" in congressional testimony. "There are some pregnancies in which the fetus will never be viable."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who questioned McNicholas, pointed out, "This essentially puts no restrictions on when an abortion can be performed. Even up until the minute before a baby would be born at full term. Dr. McNicholas couldn’t tell me the gestational age or even the size of the oldest baby she had aborted."

Democrats argue that "viability" is a medical determination where doctors decide that pregnancy would jeopardize the life of the mother or the child, but the vast majority of late-term abortions are not performed for "medical reasons."

As a 2018 Congressional Research Service report noted, while there "aren't good data on how often later abortions are for medical reasons," researchers believe such procedures for fetal abnormality "make up a small minority" and that those procedures for life endangerment are "even harder to characterize."

Moreover, Colorado abortion doctor Warren Hern is cited in an Atlantic profile that "at least half, and sometimes more, of the women who come to the clinic do not have" severe medical diagnoses.

"If there is one thing pro-life advocates and the abortion industry agree on, it’s that the vast majority of abortions involve healthy babies and healthy mothers," Osment said. "These abortions occur for social reasons such as financial pressure, relationship problems, and feeling unprepared for the responsibilities of parenthood."

"It’s between a woman and her doctor"

Democrats often say that abortion decisions should be left up to the "woman and her doctor" when asked about limitations, but anti-abortion advocates argue that ultimately means no limitations.

"When asked what limits or boundaries they would place on abortion, they all provide their approved talking point of, ‘it’s between a woman and her doctor' without further explanation," Osment said. "They list zero limits for abortion while also concealing that they’re actively taking the doctor out of the process."

In the 2022 midterm cycle, Democratic candidates from across the country repeated the line, including Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Wisconsin Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, Ohio Senate candidate former Rep. Tim Ryan, Texas gubernatorial candidate former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), and now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ).

When he was a candidate, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) called for zero restrictions on abortion, including in the third trimester, telling CNN, "I believe that choice is between a woman and her doctor and a god if she prays to one."

Earlier this summer, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) also said he does not support any limits on abortion, saying of his party's position, generally, "We don't think we should try to tell women when they can make those decisions," adding he did not think there was a cutoff point. Cardin elaborated that the position is consistent as one decided "by women with the advice of their doctor."

State ballot measures

One way abortion activists are attempting to bypass gestational limits and legislative restrictions is through state ballot measures.

The measures are defined by vague, limitless terms, opponents say.

"We see their rallying around abortion activists for a no-limits, no parental consent abortion approach in state ballots," Osment said.

This year, Ohioans will have such a measure on their ballot, which is written to ensure abortion access for anyone of any age at any time, as well as sex-change drugs and operations, opponents say.

Earlier this week, proponents of the measure admitted the measure would supersede legislative restrictions.

Next year, Maryland will have a similar one on its ballot, and efforts are underway in South Dakota, Missouri, Florida, and Arizona to make the 2024 ballot.

State legislation

Some states have been able to enact laws that get rid of gestational limits for abortion.

In July, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) signed legislation expanding abortion beyond what was considered "viability," about 24 weeks in Maine's case, leaving the decision for late-term abortion once again between "a woman and her doctor."

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In January, Minnesota became the first state to codify the "fundamental right" to abortion via legislative action, with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) signing such a bill.

Last year, Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) signed legislation getting rid of any limits on abortion whatsoever and making it the law of the Centennial State that a "fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state."