A new Monmouth poll finds Americans’ views of abortion access have remained stable: 64% support keeping the procedure legal – either always legal (33%) or with some limitations (31%).
Another 26% say it should be illegal except for rape, incest or to save the mother’s life and 8% say it should always be illegal.
“Senate Democrats will forge ahead today to try and codify a right to abortion, but there might not be 50 votes in favor, let alone enough to defeat a Republican filibuster,” Politico reports.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) downplayed the possibility that a Republican-controlled Senate would pass a federal abortion ban, The Hill reports.
Said McConnell: “Historically there have been abortion votes on the floor of the Senate none of them have achieved 60 votes… I think it’s safe to say there aren’t 60 votes there at the federal level. No matter who happens to be in the majority. No matter who happens to be in the White House.”
Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) said that “he would support legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade into law, a dramatic shift for one of the few remaining Democrats in Congress with relatively conservative views on abortion rights,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Casey: “The real question of the moment is: do you support a categorical ban on abortion? During my time in public office, I have never voted for — nor do I support — such a ban.”
Catherine Rampell: “Republican politicians working to overturn Roe v. Wade say they are pro-life and antiabortion. In fact, they are neither. What they are is pro-forced birth.”
“This distinction is about more than semantics. These officials have drawn a clear line, as evidenced by policies they’ve adopted in conjunction with their opposition to Roe. GOP-led states are making choices, today, that increase the chances of unplanned pregnancies and, therefore, demand for abortions; their choices also limit access to health care and other critical programs for new moms, endangering the lives and welfare of mothers and their children.”
Tim Miller: “To the delight of Republican senators, Schumer plans to make Democratic senators vote on abortion legislation that is both unpopular—it would legalize abortions through all nine months of pregnancy, a position most Americans disapprove of—and hopeless, since it does not have the votes to pass.”
“Here’s a tip: If you are going to force everyone to take a meaningless messaging vote for public-relations purposes, consider choosing a bill that hurts the other party’s popularity, not your own!”
Axios: “Republicans are deeply split on their abortion strategy, with top officials pushing restraint, even silence, while activist GOP candidates demand an all-out campaign for a national ban and harsher penalties…”
“The takeaway: One thing is certain about modern politics: Rarely does moderation or restraint prevail — especially on cultural, religious or identity issues. In fact, one truism of modern conservatism is: The more the establishment pushes something, the more the base recoils.”
“As Roe vs. Wade teeters, Republicans are fractured about what to do next. The split may turn into a chasm if they take back full control of Washington in 2025,” Politico reports.
“Some in the GOP now acknowledge they may eventually pursue national abortion restrictions should a majority of the Supreme Court follow through on its draft opinion overturning Roe, after spending several days trying to deflect by focusing on the document’s unauthorized disclosure. And there’s a range of opinions among Hill Republicans about what comes next: leave abortion policy to the states, pursue more modest restrictions or go all-out to install a ban nationwide.”
CNN: GOP dismisses talk of legislation to ban abortion after McConnell suggests “it’s possible.”
Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel (D) said she will refuse to enforce what she calls a 1931 “Draconian law,” which would make abortion illegal in Michigan if Roe v. Wade is overturned, MLive reports.
Said Nessel: “Let’s be clear, women in my state and states all over America are going to die because of this position.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Republicans “have made clear that their goal will be to seek to criminalize abortion nationwide,” Axios reports.
Said Pelosi: “If handed down, this decision by GOP-appointed Justices would mean that, for the first time in our history, America’s daughters will have less freedom than their mothers.”
She added: “Republican state legislators across the country are already advancing extreme new laws, seeking to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care, ban abortion entirely with no exceptions, and even charge women with murder who exercise their right to choose.”
“As Idahoans plan for a future without abortion rights, a leading Republican in the Idaho House would support holding hearings on legislation banning abortion pills and morning-after pills,” the Idaho Statesman reports.
“House State Affairs Committee Chairman Brent Crane (R) said he would hold hearings on legislation banning emergency contraception and abortion pills during a Friday interview with Idaho Public Television.”
“White House officials are seizing the political opportunity in Democrats’ doomsday scenario, the end of nationwide abortion rights, to try to salvage a midterm election thought to be all but lost for President Joe Biden’s party,” Bloomberg reports.
“An expected Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision next month will give Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris the chance to convince abortion-rights supporters that voting is the best way to channel their frustration.”
“It’s a message the White House believes will resonate with suburban women, minorities and young voters, whose support could be key to staving off a loss of Democrats’ House and Senate majorities.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) has a new digital ad linking her Republican opponents to “McConnell’s decadelong crusade to criminalize abortion.”
From the ad: “The Republican primary candidates have spent their careers proving that they would be in lockstep with McConnell’s agenda of criminalizing abortion and punishing women.”
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to file cloture today on a bill by Sen. Richard Blumenthal that would enshrine a statutory right to abortion nationwide. The move will set up the upper chamber for a Wednesday vote — though the roll call will almost certainly fail to garner the 60 votes needed to clear the filibuster, as happened to a similar proposal earlier this year,” Politico reports.
“Among Democrats, there’s a debate over whether the party is better off trying to go it alone on this legislation (all the better to use to pummel the GOP on the campaign trail), or to take a more bipartisan approach by calling up an alternative to the Blumenthal bill that is narrower in its scope and backed by two Republican senators supportive of abortion rights: Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.”
“Schumer, ever the political animal, has chosen the former approach.”
Playbook: “Republicans are already previewing the talking points they’ll employ as they move to filibuster the bill. As we reported… the NRSC is encouraging GOP candidates to change the topic from abortion rights overall to less-popular facets of the issue where Republicans feel they can win.”
“Congress returns this week to debate access to abortion, more U.S. aid to Ukraine and new funding to combat Covid-19, taking up high-stakes domestic and foreign matters ahead of a late-May Memorial Day break,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Vandals set a fire inside the Madison headquarters of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action late Saturday or early Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
As of last week, when the draft Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade first leaked, five justices were still on board with the gist of what Justice Samuel Alito had drafted back in February, the Washington Post reports.
Chief Justice John Roberts has backed an incremental approach to banning abortions, but also to keep in place key tenets of Supreme Court precedent on abortion rights.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
More about Taegan Goddard →