The Horse’s Mouth — Greg Sargent

KARL ZINSMEISTER SAYS HE WOULD SUPPORT JAILING DOCTORS FOR PERFORMING ABORTIONS. This appears to have passed virtually unnoticed. In an interview on Thursday, June 15, with Ben Wattenberg on the PBS show Think Tank, new top White House domestic policy adviser Karl Zinsmeister said that he would support putting doctors who perform abortions in jail.

Here’s the key excerpt:

WATTENBERG: Do you want to have laws that prevent people from having abortions?

ZINSMEISTER: You know, personally I would vote in favor of that.

WATTENBERG: So you would feel comfortable putting a doctor in jail for performing a procedure that a woman wants? And not just on-demand, but it could be rape, incest, life of the mother.

ZINSMEISTER: Sure. No, again, I have a definition that had some exceptions for rape and incest where there could be real psychological damage to the mother. …

He appears to be serious. And keep in mind that this man is probably the presidential adviser with the most influence over domestic policymaking in the United States.