Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said laws restricting access to abortion are “against Christian faith.”
Gillibrand, who is Catholic, made the comment during a press appearance last week in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) recently approved a law banning abortion after an embryonic heartbeat is detectable, which usually occurs around six weeks into pregnancy.
“If you are a person of the Christian faith, one of the tenants of our faith is free will,” the senator argued, according to CBS News. “One of the tenants of our democracy is that we have a separation of church and state, and under no circumstances are we supposed to be imposing our faith on other people. And I think this is an example of that effort.”
During her appearance in the southern state, Gillibrand unveiled the three-tiered policy she plans to implement should she become president, which is pretty unlikely, considering her abysmal polling numbers.
She would like to codify abortion access across the U.S., do away with the Hyde amendment, which bars the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions, and guarantee healthcare coverage for abortion in every state.
Gillibrand urged her Democratic presidential competitors to lay out pro-abortion plans of their own.
“Any Democrat who expects to win the presidency,” she claimed, “must answer definitively where they stand on this issue.”
This week, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is also running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, promised he will create an entire bureaucratic office dedicated to protecting abortion access.
Booker said Republicans “across the country are mounting a coordinated attack on abortion access and reproductive rights.” If elected president, the New Jersey lawmaker said he’ll work “immediately and decisively” to undo progress made by the pro-life movement.