Republicans quickly closed it on Monday.
“I don’t think it’s really appropriate for Congress to pass a national law,” said Sen. John Cornin of Texas, a member of McConnell’s management team.
“This will not be my priority outside the gate,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri. “I think it would be better for states to discuss this, to allow it to breathe and for Congress to act when there is a national consensus.”
Senator John Baraso of Wyoming, leader of the Senate 3 in the Senate, noted that the expired draft Supreme Court ruling focuses on allowing states to regulate abortion.
“I want to see that the states have that opportunity and the power to do so,” Baraso said when asked about federal law.
Republicans’ reaction – pouring cold water on abortion legislation – underscores Republican heightened sensitivity on the issue after Politico received an expired court bill and said a majority of Conservative judges were apparently preparing to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade . Democrats defending themselves before the midterm elections have addressed the issue in a bid to boost their base and unite around women’s rights in a bid to save their threatened majority in Congress.
But Republicans are eager to keep the medium-term debate focused on the economy, crime and border security, while acknowledging that polls clearly show a majority of Americans support keeping Roe, even when their party may be on the verge of a landslide victory. for abortions decades in the making.
Last week, McConnell wanted to stay out of the abortion debate, instead setting his fire on the unprecedented leak and calling for the distributor to be prosecuted. But in an interview with USA Today, the Kentucky Republican mentioned in general that it is “possible” for Congress to act to limit abortions in the future. However, he also vowed not to violate Senate rules to allow such a ban to pass by a simple majority, meaning 60 votes would be needed to act – an extremely high removal tape.
“If the expired opinion becomes a final opinion, the legislature – not only at the state level, but also at the federal level – could certainly pass laws in this area,” McConnell told the newspaper. “And if that was the final decision, that was the point that it had to be decided one way or another in the legislative process. So, yes, it’s possible.”
Asked Monday whether he would introduce an abortion bill in the Senate by a majority of the Republican Party in the next Congress, McConnell did not respond directly, instead stating his remarks in which he said he would “never support breaking the legislative filibuster on this issue or Everyone else.”
“I talked about it earlier today,” he told CNN.
Still, his comments, suggesting action was “possible” quickly turned Democrat food, as Republicans on Monday either expressed little interest in taking the path or said there would simply be no votes in favor. to make this happen.
“This is as much as possible, as we will take this vote on Wednesday,” said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, referring to Democrats’ insistence on codifying Roe, an effort that will surely be blocked by a Republican Party Filibuster.
Several other Republicans did not commit.
“We’re still discussing this,” said Iowa Sen. Johnny Ernst, a member of McConnell’s leadership team. “I’ve always believed that the states should uphold this right, but we’ll see.”
Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia added: “Let’s see what happens. I’m not going to go into what if.”
Republican Senate President John Tun of South Dakota has said he supports banning abortion with some exceptions. But he was quick to add that the position may not be a consensus within the Republican Party and he would not accept the possibility of Republicans seeking action at the federal level.
“This is my personal position,” Thun said. “This is certainly not the position of the assembly. I don’t think we have any idea of any of this at the moment.”
GOP divisions on abortion exceptions
Several Republicans in the House of Representatives, who have already passed or introduced abortion bills, said they believe the issue should be left to the states.
Speaking to CNN before the draft expired, spokeswoman Jodie Arrington said she supported “defining life at conception, but … I think it’s the right constitutional view to allow states to decide what their values are in the abortion decision.” Arrington said he supported a Texas law that bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and includes only exceptions for medical emergencies.
Meanwhile, when asked if he thought the Republican-led House would vote for a federal ban on abortion, Arizona spokesman David Schweikert told CNN: “I don’t really think so because it would undermine the argument that it should be done at the state level ”. Schweikert said he supported the newly signed Arizona law, which bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
And freshman Ashley Hinson of Iowa, who said she supports legislation in her state to ban abortions after a fetal heart attack is detected, which includes exceptions for rape, incest and protecting a woman’s life, said during a live event of the Washington Post on Monday that “our countries are finally ready to make these decisions” about abortion.
“Obviously, each country will have a different outcome in terms of any of these policies,” she said.
Another reason Republicans may be wary of trying to pass a federal abortion ban: they will have to reach a consensus on whether to include any exceptions. This is a problem that previously affected Republicans, with Republican leaders in the House of Representatives being forced to lift a 20-week ban on abortion in 2015 due to the rape exemption provision.
House of Representatives minority leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who is on the line to ask for the speaker’s hammer if his party returns to the House, has previously said he supports the exceptions to rape, incest and protect women’s lives. But not everyone in his increasingly conservative conference agrees.
“I think there are people in the life support community who think there should be exceptions to rape and incest, for example, and in the mother’s life when it’s in danger,” Arrington said. “I understand the sensitivity to exceptions and I respect that. But for me, the only exception is if the mother’s life is in danger.”
Arrington said the GOP has much more agreement on other anti-abortion bills that do not comply with a nationwide ban, from seeking to permanently ban federal abortion funds to banning the procedure after the 20th week of pregnancy. There is also a stricter measure that would ban abortions after the opening of cardiac activity, there are more than 100 Republican sponsors in the House.
However, these measures will certainly be vetoed by the Biden administration. And as Arrington admitted, “You still have to get him through the Senate, which means 60 votes.”
CNN’s Morgan Reamer contributed to this report.
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