Choice Is The First Line Of Defense
On Tuesday, Nikki Haley, who as governor signed a law banning all abortions in South Carolina after 20 weeks, said she believes there’s “a federal role on abortion [BUT] they say Republicans are about to ban all abortions nationwide and send women to prison. These wildly false claims amplified by a sympathetic media are not designed to do anything other than score political points.” Her speech made it sound like Democrats were making the whole thing up. And yet… back in her old state, Republicans just tried, for the third time, to do exactly what she’s trying to tell suburban women won’t happen: ban abortions completely. Nikki Haley isn’t going be president and this isn’t about her; it’s about her political party.
The bill that came within one vote of passing in South Carolina yesterday— 6 Republican state senators joining the Democrats to block it this time— would have banned abortion at conception. The bill the state Senate has passed bans abortions at 6 weeks instead— before most women realize they’re pregnant.
The developments have astounded the staunchest anti-abortion lawmakers in a General Assembly that previously led the way on regulations like a law requiring physicians to inform patients that they can see an ultrasound before the procedure.
Republican Sen. Richard Cash began Wednesday’s debate by expressing disappointment that a majority party that has long waved the “pro-life” banner would not pass a total abortion ban.
“I’m not willing to sit by and let the goalposts be moved for what it means to be pro-life for the Republican Party,” Cash said.
Massey said Thursday’s vote shows that the House must consider the Senate bill to give lawmakers a shot at passing new restrictions by the time session ends on May 11.
House Speaker Murrell Smith would not commit to voting on the Senate bill but told reporters Wednesday that the House “is always going to evaluate its options on protecting life.”
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass a bill that “the vast majority of our state” finds acceptable. He later clarified that he thinks most people supported a 2021 law banning abortion when cardiac activity is detected— which the state’s highest court ruled unconstitutional, and which resembles the Senate version.
Nebraska is another red hellhole with a backward patriarchal mindset. The last time a Republican presidential candidate failed to win the state was in 1964 (Goldwater) and in 2020 Trump won every county in the state but two, Biden failing to get even 40% of the vote— as had Hillary 4 years earlier when she came away with 33.7%. All statewide elected officials are Republicans and the state legislature consists of 32 Republicans and just 17 Democrats. They can pass whatever crazy MAGA legislation they want to. And yet, this week the Republican bill to ban abortions at 6 weeks also failed (for now).
The NY Times reported that “the bill fell one vote short of the 33 needed in order to advance, after two senators did not vote. Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican who had supported the bill, said after the vote that it was ‘unacceptable for senators to be present not voting on such a momentous vote.’ Pillen, who described himself as “a staunch defender of life” said he was “profoundly disappointed” by the outcome.
Many establishment Republican politicians are starting to panic that the party’s anti-Choice stand— in regard abortion and everything else in people’s personal lives other than guns— is hurting them at the polls. They still want to ban abortion, but they want to be seen as “moderate.” “Both states,” according to The Times, “would have joined a growing list of Republican-dominated states with severe restrictions on abortion. So far, 14 states have active bans on nearly all abortions, though some allow exceptions for rape and danger to the life of the mother. Georgia and Florida also ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, but Florida’s ban is on hold pending a court challenge… With a few weeks left in its session, South Carolina could still pass an abortion ban. The Senate has already passed a six-week ban, which the House could take up. Both chambers have been unable to reach agreement on a ban. And the state’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that its Constitution includes the right to abortion, but said the state still had an interest in regulating the procedure.”