Hillary Clinton: Marco Rubio's comments about abortion are 'pretty pathetic'

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) over his repeated assertions that Clinton supports abortion on "the baby's due date."

In an interview on "Face The Nation" on Sunday, Clinton criticized Rubio's jab as a political ploy to win support from conservative abortion opponents.

"I think it's pretty pathetic," Clinton told host John Dickerson. "This is something that illustrates how Senator Rubio has been going as far as he can to buttress his credentials with certain parts of the Republican constituency."

In recent weeks, Rubio has repeatedly emphasized his opposition to abortion in all cases, including rape and incest, unless the mother's life is threatened by the pregnancy.

During Saturday night's Republican debate, Rubio said Clinton and other Democrats held "extremist" views on abortion.

"Why doesn't the media ask why Hillary Clinton believes that all abortions should be legal?" Rubio asked. "On abortion, [Democrats] are the extremists."

As NBC points out, Clinton said in September that she could be open to abortion restrictions during the third trimester of a woman's pregnancy. However, Clinton has emphasized that she is open to late-term abortions if a pregnancy is putting a woman's life or health in danger.