GOP faces two state-level setbacks on key 2024 issue
Rachel Schilke
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Two conservative states failed to pass stricter abortion bans on Thursday, a severe blow to the GOP that is looking to make significant headway in the 2024 election — but could end up regretting its hard line on abortions.
Both South Carolina and Nebraska failed to pass abortion bans, two states hoping to join Florida, North Dakota, and Georgia as the states with the tightest restrictions on the hot-button issue driving conversations heading into 2024.
NANCY MACE SAYS GOP WILL ‘LOSE HUGE’ WITHOUT ‘MIDDLE GROUND’ ON ABORTION
The Supreme Court overturned Roe. v. Wade in June, which many Republican strategists and GOP lawmakers themselves said cost them several congressional seats in the 2022 midterm elections.
In South Carolina, abortion is legal up to 22 weeks. The South Carolina legislature has made significant strides to pass a near-total abortion ban but has been met with some legal and legislative pushback.
On Feb. 9, the state Senate passed a six-week abortion ban. However, that bill echoes a similar one blocked by the state Supreme Court, which is assessing whether it violates privacy rights.
The House passed a near-total ban in August 2022, which failed in the state Senate, and passed a similar bill on Feb. 16, 2023. However, it failed once again to pass in the upper chamber on Thursday after a Republican state senator threatened a filibuster during a special session. The Senate was two votes shy of breaking the filibuster.
House Bill 5399, the near-total ban, has been sent back to the House with amendments, as the original bill did not have exceptions for rape or incest. Those victims can obtain an abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy as long as a physician reports it to law enforcement, under the new amendments. It is headed back to the House, which is adamant on securing a near-total ban for the state.
Over in the Midwest, Nebraska is facing similar problems. A six-week abortion ban bill fell one vote short of breaking the filibuster in the state legislature, 32-15, and it is unlikely to move forward this year. The legislature is not expected to reconvene until Tuesday.
This marked Nebraska’s second straight year failing to restrict abortion access in the state. Currently, Nebraska state law permits abortions up to 20 weeks, which has been in place since 2010.
The crucial vote came down to Republican state Sen. Merv Riepe, who was the co-signer of the bill. However, he had expressed concern earlier in the year that a six-week ban does not give enough time for women to know they are pregnant, per NBC News. He warned his fellow Republican colleagues on Thursday that abortion will spur women to vote them out of office.
“We must embrace the future of reproductive rights,” he said.
Riepe’s comments echo those of national GOP lawmakers, as well. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has been a vocal member of her party on the issue, saying that she and her fellow GOP legislators will “lose huge” if they do not find a “middle ground” on abortion.
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She mentioned the six-week ban passed in Florida and the bill introduced in her home state legislature that would have punished women with capital punishment should they get an abortion.
“That is the wrong message heading into ’24. We’re going to lose huge if we continue down this path of extremities,” she added. “And finding that middle ground: The vast majority of people want some sort of gestational limits, not at nine months but somewhere in the middle. They want exceptions for rape and incest. They want women to have access to birth control. These are all very commonsense positions that we can take and still be pro-life.”