Democrats face grilling on abortion

DEMOCRATS running for US president in next year’s election sat down with voters on Saturday to outline their stance on abortion, a long-simmering issue newly inflamed by attempts to curtail it nationwide.

With abortion now among the most-discussed topics in the presidential race, the candidates aimed to impress an audience cheering “Who decides? We decide!” at the conference put on by family planning organization Planned Parenthood.

“If you’re not prochoice, you’re not getting my vote,” declared 34-yearold Jennifer Egor, who traveled to the forum held in the South Carolina state capital Columbia.

“Women’s healthcare is everything. It’s not just about abortion, it’s so much more than that,” she said.

Attended by 20 of the 23 candidates aiming to unseat Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 vote, the conference was titled “We decide 2020,” a reference not just to what is promising to be a contentious election, but also to the debate over who can choose if and when an abortion is necessary.

- Flip-flop -

The summit was attended by some of the most prominent Democratic candidates, including female senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as smallcity mayor Pete Buttigieg and left-wing senator Bernie Sanders.

The candidates listened to poignant testimonies from women in the audience and made their own promises to fight for reproductive rights.