Abortion has become politically fraught for Republicans.

 

Abortion has become politically fraught for Republicans.

 

The Republican Party has struggled to contend with abortion since the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to the procedure last summer and sent abortion policy to the states.

 

By Amy Harmon, David W. Chen and Ava Sasani

April 21, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/us/texas-abortion-pill-republicans.html

 

The Republican Party has struggled to contend with abortion since the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to the procedure last summer and sent abortion policy to the states.

 

So far, 13 conservative states ban most abortions. Georgia bans abortions at six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant. And that does not include bans enacted in other states, including a new six-week ban in Florida, that are not in effect because of court challenges.

 

But other states are locked in debate over how far to go with restrictions or exceptions to existing bans. Conservatives have been split over how to approach the abortion issue after the victory of the Supreme Court decision was followed by midterm losses.

 

This month, the victory of a liberal candidate in a pivotal race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court was partly down to the issue of abortion, which proved a powerful motivator for voters.

 

Nebraska’s legislature advanced a six-week abortion ban this month — but a Republican co-signer of the bill recently proposed an amendment to shift the ban to 12 weeks.

 

Republicans in conservative states have sought to balance pressure from their base to place more restrictions on abortion with broader support for the right to end a pregnancy.

 

Public support for legal abortion has climbed to 65 percent this year from 55 percent in 2010, according to recent polling from the Public Religion Research Institute. Majorities of residents in 43 states say that abortion should be legal in most cases. Around 63 percent of Republicans said abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, according to the PRRI poll.

 

Some Republican state leaders — particularly those with national ambitions — have sought to walk a delicate line on an issue that was once a party touchstone.

 

“This just puts the issue front and center again, and in most states and most places, it inarguably helped Democrats in 2022,” said Mike DuHaime, a former political director of the Republican National Committee. “What Republicans need to do is get to a place where they talk less about the extremes.”

 

Some Republicans are emphasizing an approach that focuses on providing resources and support for mothers and babies, as a way to mitigate the impact of bans.

 

On Wednesday, Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi, where most abortions are banned, signed a package of bills into law, increasing tax credits for the state’s crisis pregnancy centers, which encourage women to give birth, and expanding the use of “safe havens,” a way for parents to surrender babies for adoption.

 

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is expected to make a White House bid, recently signed that state’s six-week ban into law, despite the political complications it presents. The law is likely to help him court conservative and evangelical voters in a presidential primary, but could hurt him in a general election.

 

The ban, one of the most restrictive in the country, stands to shut off abortion access for women in the Deep South who relied on Florida as a destination for the procedure.

 

Senator Lindsey Graham’s proposal for a 15-week national abortion ban last September failed to garner support from other Senate Republicans. And former President Donald J. Trump has blamed the abortion issue for the underperformance of Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections.

 

Amy Harmon is a national correspondent, covering the intersection of science and society. She has won two Pulitzer Prizes, for her series “The DNA Age”, and as part of a team for the series “How Race Is Lived in America.” @amy_harmon • Facebook

 

David W. Chen reports on the business of sports, investigating the corporate, non-profit, and government players with skin in the games. Before joining the Sports desk, he worked for Metro for more than 20 years as an investigative reporter and bureau chief in City Hall and Trenton. @davidwchen

 

Ava Sasani is a reporter for the National desk. @AvaSasani