Joe Biden said 'I do not view abortion as a choice and a right' back in 2006: 'it's always a tragedy'

Joe Biden, back before his second attempt at running for president, expressed a view on abortion that is likely incompatible with the current way the Democratic Party handles the issue, according to CNN.

Biden, who is currently struggling to reconcile his attempted middle-of-the-road position on abortion with what the Democratic base wants, used to feel more comfortable expressing opinions more in line with his allegedly personal pro-life stance.

From CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, here's what Biden said in 2006:

"I'm a little bit of an odd man out in my party," Biden said. "I do not vote for funding for abortion. I voted against partial birth abortion -- to limit it -- and I vote for no restrictions on a woman's right to be able to have an abortion under Roe v. Wade. And, so I am -- I made everybody angry.

And later in the piece:

"It's going to be very difficult," Biden said. "I do not view abortion as a choice and a right. I think it's always a tragedy, and I think that it should be rare and safe, and I think we should be focusing on how to limit the number of abortions. There ought to be able to have a common ground and consensus as to do that."

Biden's abortion positions are facing scrutiny now because he has gone back and forth about whether he supports the Hyde Amendment, which prohibit federal funding for abortion services in most cases.

 Biden has long been a supporter of the amendment, but after severe backlash from pro-abortion advocates, he changed his mind.

Biden's campaign issued a statement to CNN in response to the rediscovered quotes:

"Vice President Biden supports a woman's right to choose and he believes that we are in a moment of unprecedented assault on choice in this country," Bates said. "As president, he would fight to preserve Roe v. Wade and he has called for it to be codified into law," Bates said. "Vice President Biden would nominate judges who would stand firm on upholding all of our constitutional rights, including a woman's right to choose. If you look at his record on Supreme Court nominees you will see who he's fought for — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and who he's fought against — Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito.

Here's the full 2006 interview:

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