Republican candidate Doug Bergum said Sunday that he will not waste his time on “culture war topics” like trying to protect unborn babies from abortion if elected president.
His statements to NBC News host Chuck Todd on “Meet The Press” cleared up doubts about his stance on abortion. Bergum, the governor of North Dakota, recently signed a heartbeat bill to protect unborn babies from abortion and his campaign has touted his “pro-life” record; but his past statements have raised questions about his commitment to the pro-life cause.
On Sunday, he confirmed that he does not believe federal legislation to protect unborn babies from abortion is worth his time.
“It’s definitely not the place where the president should be spending their time,” Bergum told Todd when asked about issues like abortion and transgender treatments on children, according to The Daily Wire.
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If elected, Bergum said he will not sign a federal bill to limit or ban elective abortions because the issue “should be left to the states.”
“I believe that the president of the United States has got a defined set of things they’re supposed to work on, and it’s not every culture war topic,” Burgum said. “As president, things that you’re supposed to focus on, things like the economy, like energy policy, which is completely tied to national security, and part of national security is the border.”
According to Newsmax, Burgum did say he supports the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and he believes Democrats’ support for late-term abortions is “abhorrent.” But he would not do anything to stop viable, late-term unborn babies from being aborted.
“Some states allow” elective, late-term abortions, he said. “I think that’s extreme. But states get to decide where they want to fit on that spectrum.”
Burgum said he believes “part of what is going wrong” in America is that lawmakers have been too focused on abortion and transgender issues.
“Anytime you’re the CEO, if you’re spending time on something that can be done, you know, in a sales office out on the front lines dealing with customers, you’re not doing your job,” he told Todd. “You’ve got to be looking to the future. … The reason why we’ve got issues with our economy, with our energy policy, with national security that are just raff, it is because we are somehow, through culturally, media, whatever, trapping the presidency or expecting them to weigh in on every single thing.”
But abortion is not just a cultural issue. In the past 50 years in the United States, more than 63 million unborn babies have been aborted and deprived of their fundamental right to life. Because of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, 15 states now protect unborn babies from abortion and others are fighting in court to do the same. But most states still allow unborn babies to be killed in abortions for any reason up to viability – and some up to birth.
Others who have announced Republican presidential bids include former Presidential Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former North Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina.
Pro-life leaders hope the next president will support federal legislation to protect unborn babies from abortion. Polls consistently show Americans support limits on abortion after the first trimester, and a federal ban on elective abortions after 15 weeks could save tens of thousands of lives.
