Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke responded to a question about late-term abortion at a Thursday campaign town hall event by bringing up his belief that Planned Parenthood is “saving the lives” of women.

The question came from a “Planned Parenthood supporter” named Claire who contended that there was “no such thing as abortion up until or after birth” and the only abortions that occur late in pregnancies are for “fetal abnormalities or a serious risk to the woman’s health.”

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“If elected, how will you protect a woman’s right to access safe and legal abortion?” asked Claire.

O’Rourke began his response by lamenting the “lives we are losing” because of the closure of family planning clinics in Texas.

“We’ve made it so hard for women to just get any kind of health care at all, including access to a legal, safe abortion,” said the former Texas congressman, before launching into a passionate defense of Planned Parenthood. (RELATED: We Talked To Former Planned Parenthood Workers. Their Stories Are Chilling)

And so, no one wants to see people die in the wealthiest and most powerful country on the face of the planet for lack of care, so when I connected back that family planning clinics, Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women and it’s a life-and-death matter in this country. Three times as deadly for women of color in this maternal mortality crisis that we have right now. I think I can find some common ground to ensure that we see the larger picture and our national public shared interest going forward. So I’ll make sure that I respect those with differing points of view, that I’m listening to everybody, that I share what I just shared with you, but never compromise on the fundamental principle that health care also means every woman makes her own decisions about her own life. And that will be the test for us and whoever we nominate to the Supreme Court.

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