When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was a congressman, he voted against a bill that would mandate life-saving care for babies who survive abortions, The Pulse reported.
In 2018, Walz initially voted in favor of the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, but later wrote to then-Speaker Paul Ryan and asked to reverse his vote. In his request, he said he had voted "yea" in error.
Walz is now on the Democrat presidential ticket as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.
After Walz became governor of Minnesota in 2019, he repealed legislation that required reasonable measures be taken to "preserve the life and health" of children born alive after botched abortions.
That bill also rescinded a mandate that required abortion providers to report cases in which infants survive the procedure. At least three such incidents were reported in Minnesota in 2019. In two of those cases, the babies were allowed to die, and in the third, the infant didn’t receive lifesaving treatment, only "comfort care measures."
In 2021, five cases were reported, according to a health department report. All five babies died.
Late-term abortion became an issue in Tuesday's debate between Harris and former President Trump when Trump said that Harris and Walz were in favor of killing babies up until and after birth.
"[Harris'] vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine," Trump said.
Trump added: "[Walz] also says execution after birth — it's execution, no longer abortion because the baby is born — is OK, and that's not OK with me."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Walz, while supporting broad access to abortion care, has never said abortion in the ninth month is “absolutely fine,” nor has he said that the "execution" of an infant after birth is OK.
Walz signed legislation last year making Minnesota one of nine states, plus Washington, D.C., that allows abortion with no restrictions on the baby's gestational age.