AP FACT CHECK: Trump on late-term abortion

Associated Press
AP Fact Check;

WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at one of President Donald Trump's statements from his State of the Union address on Tuesday night and how it compares with the facts:

TRUMP, citing legislation in New York and Virginia in calling on Congress to ban late-term abortion: "And then we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth."

THE FACTS: That's not what Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said.

Northam told a radio interviewer that he supported state legislation that would allow late-term abortions and noted that the procedures were usually done if the fetus had severe deformities or wasn't viable. Describing a hypothetical situation, he said if a woman were to desire an abortion as she's going into labor, the baby would be delivered and "resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue" between doctors and the mother.

Some Republicans said that showed Northam, a Democrat, was supporting infanticide.

The governor's spokeswoman said Northam, a pediatric neurologist, was only trying to describe the "tragic or difficult circumstances" involved in a late-term abortion.

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EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures