<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656084575115,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000016c-7763-d473-a96f-77eb53420000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656084575115,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000016c-7763-d473-a96f-77eb53420000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56082225", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1039680"} }); ","_id":"00000181-962f-d66a-a7c3-d72f37970000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe Supreme Court’s decision overturning the half-century-old ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortions nationwide has the potential to scramble in dramatic ways a 2022 campaign landscape that has favored Republicans.
A majority of justices, each appointed by Republican presidents, joined the opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling Mississippi can maintain its law banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. The decision gives states the power to determine limits on when a woman can terminate a pregnancy.
The ruling comes just over four months before Election Day, on Nov. 8. House Republicans are within striking distance of winning a majority, needing to net five seats in the 435-member chamber. The race for a Senate majority is touch-and-go. Democrats are trying to expand on the razor-thin majority they hold in the 50-50 chamber due to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, while Republicans have pickup opportunities in several states in their bid for control. Thirty-six governor’s offices are on the ballot in November, too.
SUPREME COURT VOTES TO OVERTURN ROE V. WADE, PAVING WAY FOR STATE ABORTION BANS
The Dobbs ruling now adds a high-profile social issue into the mix as Democrats campaign in a political environment of low presidential approval ratings, spiking gas prices, and the worst inflation in 40 years. Democratic campaign strategist Simon Rosenberg said he expects the question of abortion to outpace economic concerns in voter motivation come November.
https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1540360683497340928
Candidates on Friday made clear the Dobbs decision would feature prominently in their fall campaign efforts.
In Ohio’s contentious Senate race, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan blasted the ruling.
“Today’s disastrous decision is the largest case of government overreach in my lifetime,” said Ryan, who is running an uphill race against author and investor J.D. Vance.
Vance lauded the decision and vowed that the next phase of the anti-abortion movement would be one of action.
“Today is a great day. It vindicates a half-century of work, and gives us an opportunity to live up our founding creed — that all of us are truly created equal,” Vance said in a statement. “We now enter a new phase of the pro-life movement. We will continue the fight to ensure that every young mother has the resources they need to bring new life into the world. We will build an economy where it’s possible to sustain and support our children. We will expand adoption and promote pregnancy centers so that every child has the loving home they deserve.”
In Pennsylvania, Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz affirmed his anti-abortion position.
“I respect those with different views, but as a heart surgeon, I’ve held the smallest of human hearts in the palm of my hand, and will defend the sanctity of life,” Oz said in a statement.
His Democratic rival Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said, if elected, he would vote in the Senate to put the Roe v. Wade standard into law.
“It is unjust. It is wrong. And I’m going to fight it with everything I’ve got. Send me to the U.S. Senate, and I’d *proudly* vote to codify Roe v. Wade into law,” he said.
Republican Eric Greitens, the scandal-prone former Missouri governor now seeking his state’s Senate nomination in the Aug. 2 primary, also hailed the decision as a “huge victory for the life movement.”
“Life is the most precious gift from our Creator and is always worthy of protection, especially the unborn who are the most vulnerable,” Greitens said in a statement. “We saw how liberals and extremists went to disgusting lengths to leak the draft opinion last month as a way to damage this sacred institution for their radical political agenda. But their reprehensible actions were no match for level-headed justices who looked at the case without prejudice or predisposition.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former press secretary under President Donald Trump, also praised the decision. She is the Republican nominee in the Arkansas gubernatorial race.
https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee/status/1540343998195421185In two competitive House districts in Virginia where Republican nominees are hoping to oust Democratic incumbents, each candidate made her position clear.
Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria bemoaned the decision, with Spanberger calling it “a dark day” and saying, “As a federal lawmaker, I will work to restore a woman’s right to choose and protect our Fourteenth Amendment rights.”
“This decision is further proof that we need to enshrine reproductive freedom protections into federal law to protect Americans from government overreach and restore the rights of women across the country,” Luria said. “I will continue to be an advocate in Congress for women and fight to protect the rights of all Americans, including the right to choose.”
Their opponents are standing firmly on the other side. Jen Kiggans, who is running against Luria in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, pledged to pursue more anti-abortion policies in Congress.
https://twitter.com/JenKiggans/status/1540360826221199360
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Yesli Vega, opposing Spanberger in the 7th District, celebrated that control over abortion would return to the states.
“The federal government was never meant to have this kind of power and I’m glad it’s returning to the state where we have a pro-life governor at the healm,” she said.
