“Being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said on Saturday, February 8, 2020.

At a forum focused on the federal judiciary in Concord, New Hampshire, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked him “Is there such a thing as a pro-life Democrat, in your vision of the party?”

“I think being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat,” responded Sanders, thus demonstrating his lurch towards the Left on the issue.

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Sanders believes that “in the Senate probably 95 percent of the Democrats are pro-choice – you have a few who are not.” Additionally, he estimated that in the House the percentage who are pro-choice may even be greater.

“So that’s kind of what my view is. I think by this time in history, I think when we talk about what a Democrat is, I think being pro-choice is essentially – is an essential part of that.”

Pro-Life Democrats pushed back against Sanders on Twitter: “Pretty rich for a political Independent to tell millions of Democrats we don’t qualify.”

Sanders is an Independent in the Senate but runs under the Democrat label when running for the presidency.

Princeton University jurisprudence professor Robert George also reacted to Bernie’s assertion.

“Here’s Bernie Sanders officially excommunicating pro-life Democrats,” tweeted George, a former chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “So: if you’re pro-life you are unacceptable, unwanted, an intruder. Time to go elsewhere.”

In his response, Sanders mentioned “a few” Senate Democrats who were not “pro-choice.”

In 2018, Senators Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, and Bob Casey, voted alongside Republicans for a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill ended up failing.

Patrick Goodenough of CNS noted that there is a growing minority of Democrats who hold pro-life views:

Gallup polls found 29 percent of Democrats self-identified as prolife in 2019. That’s up four points since the previous year, although until 2013 at least 30 percent of Democrats were calling themselves pro-life.

Sanders’ comments are indicative of how radical Democrats are becoming on foundational issues.

Even on the issue of the Second Amendment, Sanders, who has generally been viewed as pro-gun by Democrat standards, has joined the Democrat chorus in attacking law-abiding gun ownership.

Moderate Democrats may start reconsidering the Democrat Party altogether and entertain potentially joining the GOP.