WASHINGTON, Apr 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Pat Robertson, founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network and the celebrated host of the 40-year-running 700 Club program, disappointed hundreds of thousands of his fans Monday night as he defended China’s notorious family planning program. In an interview on CNN’s “Wolf Blitzer Reports” Robertson, founder and President of the Christian Coalition, was asked, “How do you balance your historic support for closer relation with China, improved trade relations with China, with what many conservatives complain about, specifically the so-called forced abortions in China?”
Robertson, who has spoken valiantly in favour of life in the United States, responded: “Well, you know, I don’t agree with it. But at the same time, they’ve got 1.2 billion people, and they don’t know what to do. If every family over there was allowed to have three or four children, the population would be completely unsustainable. … So, I think that right now they’re doing what they have to do. I don’t agree with the forced abortion, but I don’t think the United States needs to interfere with what they’re doing internally in this regard.”
When Blitzer asked for clarification, asking, “But in effect, won’t your critics on the right be saying that Pat Robertson is justifying abortions in China?”, Robertson avoided the issue and condemned only sex-selective abortions.
Read the full transcript from CNN at: https://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/16/wbr.00.html