Senate Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from a harsh new Alabama law that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest,…
Senate Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from a harsh new Alabama law that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, and carries a penalty of up to 99 years in prison for anyone performing the procedure.
Most GOP senators are trying their best to steer clear of the firestorm, arguing it’s a state-level issue that doesn’t involve Congress.
But the controversial law will undoubtedly stoke the abortion debate heading into the 2020 elections.
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who is up for reelection next year in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, is taking the lead in slamming the Alabama statute as “very extreme” and a “terrible law.”
“I’m very much opposed to the Alabama law,” Collins told The Hill. “I think it’s completely inconsistent with Roe v. Wade and will lead to a virtual ban on abortions in Alabama, even for victims of incest and rape.”
“I can’t imagine that any justice could find that to be consistent with the previous precedence,” she told CNN in a separate interview.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), another leading Republican moderate, declined to comment on the Alabama law as she headed into a lunch meeting Thursday.
When later pressed as she headed to the Senate floor for the final vote of the week, Murkowski told reporters that she disagrees with the lack of an exception for the victims of rape or incest.
“I think you know where I come from on that. I believe that there need to be exceptions,” she said.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised the same concern.
“I believe in exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, and that’s what I’ve voted on,” McCarthy told reporters at a press conference, noting that such exceptions are in the GOP platform.
