Sen. Mark Kelly says he’s OK with abortion restrictions ‘late in pregnancy’

PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Wednesday that while he supports abortion rights, he doesn’t oppose limits “late in pregnancy.”

“There are restrictions on abortion late in pregnancy, and there should be as allowed under Roe v. Wade,” the Democrat told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “We just need to make sure that women can get the health care they need if they’re facing serious circumstances.”

Kelly said his Republican opponent, Blake Masters, has been making false accusations about the incumbent’s stance on the issue.

Masters’ website says Kelly “believes in nationwide abortion on-demand up until the moment of birth, with zero limits.”

“What he says is not true,” Kelly said. “What is true is that I do not support a national abortion ban, and that’s what he supports.

Abortion became a key issue for this year’s elections after the Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that protected abortion rights at the federal level for nearly 50 years.

“My focus is on protecting a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body,” Kelly said.

Masters reportedly updated the abortion section of his website after he won the GOP primary last month, removing some of the stronger language.

He took out mentions of being “100% pro life” and supporting “a federal personhood law (ideally a Constitutional amendment) that recognizes that unborn babies are human beings that may not be killed,” according to an NBC News story.

Masters responded to the story by telling KTAR News’ The Mike Broomhead Show last month it was still “the most detailed, most pro-life agenda of any Senate candidate nationwide.”

“I added some language to [the website] that points out Mark Kelly calls me a pro-life extremist and I’m pro-life, I don’t make apologies for that,” Masters said during an Aug. 26 interview.

“But I added some language to call him out, actually, that they’re lying about me and my position because they’re the extremists.”

Kelly said it was Masters who goes too far with his views.

“My opponent has said he wants to prosecute doctors,” Kelly said. “The national abortion ban that he has advocated for … criminalizes it for women.”

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