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 "I personally and deeply believe that all human life is worthy of
the protection of our laws. I do. And I believe that irrespective of
the conditions by which that life was conceived, or anything else,
and for me to be consistent on that belief," Rubio said on NBC's
"Meet the Press."
During Thursday night's debate, Rubio said he never advocated for
any exceptions on abortion, including when conception occurs
following rape or incest or when the mother's life is in danger.
However, Rubio supported such exceptions when he co-sponsored the
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in 2013, which aimed to ban
late-stage abortions.
On Sunday, Rubio denied any inconsistency. He said that while he
does not support such exceptions, he would not rule them out if the
overall result is fewer abortions.
 "I recognize that in order to have consensus on laws that limit the
number of abortions, a lot of people want to see those exceptions,"
he said on NBC.
Rubio said he recognized that women have the right to make decisions
about their own bodies, but that clashes with "the right of a human
being to live."
"I don't say it's easy," Rubio said. "But when asked to make a
decision between two very hard circumstances, I personally reached
the decision, if I'm going to err, I'm going to err on the side of
life."
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For Rubio, taking a bold stance against exceptions could hurt his
standing with women. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have also said they do not support
abortion in any cases.
Democrats seized on his remarks in the debate.
"Hey Marco Rubio, the women of the 21st century can hear you,"
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Christina Freundlich
said. "When you don't account for rape or incest, the only thing we
see is a candidate with outdated, out of step, and offensive
policies of the past. Get with the times or go home."
(Reporting by Megan Cassella; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Lisa
Shumaker)
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