MEMORANDUM:

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: DNC War Room

DATE: June 24, 2022

RE: Republicans Won’t Stop At Overturning Roe

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Today’s opinion from conservative Supreme Court justices overturns Roe v. Wade – a devastating blow to reproductive rights and Americans’ freedom to make their own health care decisions. Make no mistake: Today’s ruling is the direct result of Republicans’ unrelenting, decades-long, radical war on the right to an abortion. 

MAGA Republicans across the country have made clear they have no intention of stopping at just overturning Roe – Mitch McConnell has already said a Republican majority could try to make abortion illegal everywhere. Many Republicans want to ban abortion with no exemptions for rape or incest. And others are even promising to throw doctors in jail and ban some forms of contraceptives.

Republicans might try to hide from their records now, but we’re here to highlight how they pose a direct threat to women’s health and are already signaling how much further they’ll go to attack our fundamental rights.

Despite overwhelming support for access to safe and legal abortion across the country, Republican leaders have waged an all-out war on access to reproductive health care and their records speak for themselves. 

Kevin McCarthy claimed science “has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that human life begins at conception.” On the House floor, McCarthy said his goal in advocating legislatively against abortion rights was to make sure no woman could make a decision about abortion again. 

Mitch McConnell bragged that his politicization of judicial nomination was his greatest pro-life accomplishment and said state legislatures should be allowed to “define, legislatively, the whole process of giving birth.”

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump called for a ban on abortion with “some form of punishment” for women. He also vowed to only nominate Supreme Court justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

As president, Donald Trump sought to pass legislation that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks and vowed to veto any abortion rights legislation.  

Mike Pence has repeatedly said that he believes Roe v. Wade should be sent to “the ash heap of history.” Pence also bragged about how the Trump-Pence administration stacked the federal courts with extreme judges, repeatedly attacked abortion access, and stripped funding from Planned Parenthood. 

While serving as the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence signed anti-abortion legislation every year of his tenure. 

Mike Pompeo said he would not support abortion exceptions for rape. 

Kristi Noem said in her “perfect world” abortion would no longer exist. Noem openly bragged about South Dakota’s trigger law that automatically bans abortion when Roe v. Wade is overturned. 

Tim Scott says he is “100 percent committed” to “pro-life” policies, he believes life begins at conception and has suggested that abortion is not a choice. 

Marsha Blackburn believes women do not have the right to abortion because the word does not explicitly appear in the constitution. 

Tom Cotton vowed that overturning Roe v. Wade would be just the start of Republican efforts to restrict abortion rights and said it was “radical” for states to pass “laws declaring abortion a ‘fundamental right.’”

Ted Cruz has openly said he wants to end abortion “once and for all” and supports banning abortion from the moment of conception. Cruz also defended his opposition to a rape exception for abortions.

Ron DeSantis said the 15-week abortion ban he signed into law – which included no exceptions for rape, incest, or human trafficking – was “warranted.”

Mike DeWine said he was “proud” to sign a six-week abortion ban that included no exceptions.

Doug Ducey signed a bill making it a class 6 felony for a physician to perform an abortion after 15 weeks.

Following news that the Supreme Court was set to overturn Roe v. Wade, Nikki Haley called it “a victory.” She also attacked pro-choice Americans’ advocacy as “not real feminism.”

Rick Scott repeatedly voiced support for anti-choice policies requiring women seeking an abortion to receive an ultrasound saying he hoped they would change their minds.

Josh Hawley said Roe v. Wade was a “historic injustice” that “invented this constitutional right” and called for it to be overturned, and vowed to only vote for Supreme Court nominees “who have explicitly acknowledged” Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.

Ron Johnson supported letting states impose abortion restrictions and said those who opposed them should just move to another state. 

Mike Lee compared the anti-abortion movement to the fights for civil rights and against Nazism. 

Mike Pompeo said he does not believe in rape exceptions for abortion bans, explicitly rejected the notion that abortion is a right, and bragged about the Trump administration’s anti-choice record.

Kim Reynolds said, if criminalized, abortion should have the same legal consequences as murder. 

Marco Rubio opposes exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape. Rubio has also said that in the “conflict” between a woman’s right to choose and an unborn child’s right to live, he would always side with the unborn child.

Overturning Roe is the beginning, not the end, for Republican leaders. MAGA Republican governors and state legislatures have already begun pushing legislation that criminalizes abortions, threatens doctors with prison, and institutes full-out abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest. 

In Mississippi, the Republican governor refused to rule out a ban on certain forms of contraception.

The Nebraska state legislature could reconsider a near-total abortion ban bill that defines life as beginning at fertilization now that Roe is overturned.

In Oklahoma, the Republican governor signed a near-complete abortion ban into law. 

Arkansas has a trigger law that will ban abortions except in the case of life-threatening medical emergencies. 

Idaho’s trigger law will criminalize abortion as a felony – punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

Missouri’s 2019 law will make it a felony for doctors to perform or induce abortions except in cases of medical emergency.

North Dakota’s 2007 law will go into effect making it a felony to perform an abortion except for protecting the life of the mother. 

South Dakota’s nearly outright ban on abortions has been in place since 2005 and will go into effect “on the date states are recognized by the United States Supreme Court to have the authority to prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy.”

Tennessee and Texas’s current laws would prohibit abortion except in the case of protecting the mother and will go into effect 30 days from today. Violators could face felony charges.