ICYMI: These GOP Senate candidates oppose most exceptions to abortion bans [Axios]

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Axios: These GOP Senate candidates oppose most exceptions to abortion bans
By Alayna Treene
May 9, 2022

Key Points:

• A series of Republican candidates running in crucial Senate battlegrounds hold strict anti-abortion views — including opposing the procedure even in cases of rape and incest.

• Why it matters: The views of these GOP front–runners go far beyond what Republicans have traditionally embraced…. If elected, these candidates — from J.D. Vance in Ohio to Herschel Walker in Georgia — would push the party further right.

• The leaked draft signaling the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade has thrust abortion into the forefront of the midterm elections.

• The big picture: The state laws and positions held by the Senate candidates have spurred new questions about whether Republicans — if they regain the majority … in the Senate — will try to pass a federal abortion ban.

• Herschel Walker… filled out a survey from Georgia Life Alliance late last year stating he believes abortion should be illegal, including in instances of rape and incest.

• Last month, he told a pastor at Rock Springs Church: “I believe from the womb to the tomb.”

• David McCormick — who’s facing a heated primary with his Trump-backed opponent, Mehmet Oz — said during a debate in Harrisburg last month he’s fully against all scenarios involving abortion, apart from “in the very rare instances there should be exceptions for the life of the mother.” Oz made similar comments.

• Ted Budd (R-N.C.), also endorsed by Trump, has left the door open to banning abortion in cases where a mother’s life could be at risk as well as in cases of rape and incest.

• Chuck Morse (NH), former president of the state’s Senate, helped write and pass a state budget that included a ban on abortions after 24 weeks — with no exceptions for rape, incest or for fetal viability, according to the Concord Monitor.

• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who’s up for re-election this fall, has long opposed including rape and incest exceptions in abortion cases — something that used to set him apart from his Republican colleagues.

• J.D. Vance… told Spectrum News he doesn’t think rape and incest exceptions are necessary.

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