Joe Manchin will vote against West Virginia’s pro-life ballot referendum

 Democratic Senator Joe Manchin says he will vote against a pro-life ballot referendum on the West Virginia ballot. The proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution would state: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.” 

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is nominally pro-life and has mostly voted this way during his career. But he announced during tonight’s debate that he will be voting against the amendment — after a considerable amount of hemming and hawing…

As he bumbles his way through the question, Manchin keeps falling back on the issue of exceptions for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. But if you’re really pro-life this is irrelevant, because Amendment One would not ban any abortions.

All the amendment does is clarify that West Virginia’s constitution does not contain a right to abortion or require that taxpayers fund abortions.