Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that he opposes a national abortion ban because it would strip authority from a state like his that is poised to immediately ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
“I think that’s inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for decades, which is that we wanted Roe vs. Wade to be reversed and for the authority to go back to the states,” Hutchinson told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “So as a matter of principle, that’s where it should be.”
Hutchinson appeared on “This Week” just days after an unprecedented leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion on abortion shed new light on what could happen if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade.
The document, obtained by Politico, while not final, shows that the conservative majority of Supreme Court justices is ready to overturn nearly 50 years of established precedent on abortion rights through its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health of Mississippi that the court last heard. year. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
Raddatz noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell he told USA Today that Republicans may seek a national ban. Raddatz pressed the two-term governor, asking, “Will you oppose that?”
“If you look at a constitutional or national standard, that goes against the prerogative of the states,” responded Hutchinson, president of the National Governors Association. “And second, I think there are some constitutional questions of a national standard, as well as what is the authority of the Constitution to enact that.”
In March 2021, Hutchinson signed a bill banning abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Rape and incest cases are not considered exceptions under the law, something Hutchinson said she didn’t entirely agree with at the time.
The bill also charges anyone who performs an unapproved abortion with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The measure, however, has not been enacted into state law. A US district court judge in Arkansas issued an order in July 2021 temporarily blocking Arkansas’ near-total abortion ban while a lawsuit against the measure continues. Currently, abortions are allowed in Arkansas up to 22 weeks gestation.
The law would only take effect if Roe v. Wade.
According to an analysis carried out by the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organization. Arkansas and four other states have proposed near-complete abortion bans, according to the institute.
“What would you say to women in your state who can’t afford an abortion trip, can’t afford to raise a child, or have been raped or incest?” Raddatz asked.
Hutchinson responded that “in terms of Arkansas law, our law simply expresses the will of the people of Arkansas.”
“In Arkansas, it is Arkansas policy to protect the lives of the unborn,” said Hutchinson, 71, who is exploring a run for president in 2024. “So, yes, if Roe v. Wade is reversed, then we will have an activation law to protect the lives of the unborn.”
Raddatz stepped back and said, “I want to get back to my question about those women.”
“What would you say to those women who are seeking an abortion, who don’t have money to travel, who don’t have money to raise a child? What would you say to them?”
Hutchinson replied, “Well, first of all, that’s where your heart goes out to them.”
“I had to deal with those very difficult circumstances of rape and incest as governor and it’s difficult. So, you have to understand that,” Hutchinson said. “You have to provide services. And I think we’d like to increase maternal health services, increase adoption services as well. So we want to invest in those areas that will help those women with very difficult circumstances. of pregnancy”.
When he signed Arkansas’ near-total abortion ban, Hutchinson issued a statement saying he “would have preferred the legislation to include the exceptions for rape and incest.”
He told Raddatz on Sunday that “even though we have the trigger bill, I hope those exceptions will be a big part of the debate going forward, even though we’re going to go right away restricting abortions with the exception of life.” of the mother”.
“Why do you support those exceptions?” Raddatz asked.
The governor responded that “those exceptions are what the public has generally insisted on as reasonable exceptions to the abortion limitations.”
Reference-abcnews.go.com