In U.S. Senate races across the country, Republicans are far-out-of-step with voters on abortion and reproductive health care, urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and pushing for hardline, total abortion bans, including at the federal level
Today, U.S. Senate Republicans once again displayed just how out-of-step they are with the American people on abortion rights, voting to block consideration of the Women’s Health Protection Act — a bill to codify abortion rights as constitutionally guaranteed under Roe v. Wade’s near-50-year precedent.
Senate Republicans voted against consideration of the Women’s Health Protection Act, including Republicans whose seats are up in 2022: Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio, Chuck Grassley, Rob Portman, Richard Burr, Roy Blunt, Lisa Murkowski, and Pat Toomey.
Potential 2024 Republican candidates Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, Tim Scott, Tom Cotton, Ben Sasse, and Josh Hawley, likewise vote against consideration of the bill.
Last July, GOP Senators urged the Supreme Court uphold Mississippi’s abortion ban and overturn Roe v. Wade — an outcome that is opposed by 69% of Americans.
While Portman, Burr, Blunt, and Toomey are retiring and not standing for reelection in 2022, the GOP candidates running to replace them likewise share their anti-abortion views. And, in many cases, have adopted even more hardline positions on abortion — with multiple 2022 U.S. Senate candidates calling for a “personhood” law or federal ban on abortion.
Here’s where 2022 Republican Senate candidates stand on overturning Roe v. Wade and backing hardline bans to outlaw abortion:
Arizona
- Every GOP Senate candidate running in Arizona supports overturning Roe v. Wade and outlawing abortion. Read Tucson Weekly’s report from October.
Colorado
- Gino Campana is an opponent and critic of abortion rights.
- Ron Hanks is currently pushing a bill to criminalize abortion in Colorado and “enforce homicide and assault provisions without regard to the opinion of the United States [S]upreme [C]ourt in Roe v. Wade and other supreme court decisions, past and future.”
- Peter Yu has cheered the Texas abortion ban law and argued that it is compatible with the Constitution.
Florida
Georgia
- Herschel Walker supports fully outlawing abortion, including in cases of rape and incest.
- Gary Black has stated support for Texas’ hardline abortion ban and the Supreme Court gutting Roe v. Wade, and so too has Kelvin King.
Missouri
- Eric Schmitt signed Missouri onto a brief supporting Mississippi’s highly-restrictive abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest. And he’s asked the Supreme Court to use Missouri’s abortion restriction as a test case t ooverturn Roe v. Wade.
- Eric Greitens pushed abortion restrictions as governor and he has said Roe v. Wade should be “sent to the ash heap of history.”
- Vicky Hartzler has said the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Billy Long has said it’s time to “abort Roe v. Wade.”
- Mark McCloskey endorsed a total ban outlawing all abortions, including for teen rape and incest victims.
North Carolina
- Ted Budd praised the Texas abortion ban going into effect, and reaffirmed his opposition to Roe v. Wade. Budd in July 2021 asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, and he’s voted against codifying Roe’s protections.
- Pat McCrory as governor reneged on a promise to not restrict abortion rights.
- Mark Walker as a U.S. House member sponsored legislation that anti-abortion groups praised because it would “end abortion” rights.
Nevada
- Adam Laxalt has, despite widespread support for abortion rights in Nevada, “taken strongly anti-abortion positions” including by describing “himself as an opponent of abortion and, as attorney general, signed briefs supporting restrictive abortion laws in other states.” Abortion advocates in Nevada have vocally opposed his candidacy.
New Hampshire
- Don Bolduc has been clear he is “not for abortion.”
- Chuck Morse is a longtime opponent of abortion rights and says he opposes the Women’s Health Protection Act. Morse has supported defunding Planned Parenthood. And as state Senate President, Morse was part of the legislative leadership team that added a highly-restrictive abortion ban to New Hampshire’s most recent budget, requiring mandatory ultrasounds for all people seeking abortion health care and punishment for doctors who provide abortions.
- Kevin Smith ran a failed campaign for governor in 2012, and has previously backed efforts to ban abortion and supported defunding Planned Parenthood as well as imprisoning physicians who perform abortions. He also opposes the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Ohio
- Josh Mandel has called for banning all abortion health care and fully overturning Roe v. Wade.
- Mike Gibbons reaffirmed his anti-Roe agenda after the Texas’ hardline abortion ban went into effect.
- Jane Timken called it a “victory” when the Supreme Court declined to block Texas’ ban from going into effect, allowing the near-total ban to go into effect.
- JD Vance suggested other states pass copy-and-paste versions of the Texas law. And he’s argued against exceptions for rape and incest, downplaying pregnancy stemming from sexual assault as “inconvenient.”
Pennsylvania
- Jeff Bartos opposes abortion rights.
- Kathy Barnette is a vocal opponent of abortion rights.
- David McCormick opposes abortion rights, and his allies have argued he’s even more conservative on the issue than Oz, who’s been clear the Court should over turn Roe v. Wade.
- Mehmet Oz opposes abortion rights and indicated he supports the Supreme Court overtuning Roe v. Wade.
- Carla Sands has slammed abortion rights and efforts to codify Roe v. Wade.
Wisconsin
Published: Feb 28, 2022