Anti-abortion Dem backs rights bill
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, one of the last lawmakers on Capitol Hill calling himself a “pro-life Democrat,” said Tuesday he would support a bill to write abortion rights into federal law following the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
Casey, serving his third term, is not just any Democrat in the abortion debate. His father, a former two-term governor of Pennsylvania who opposed abortion rights, signed legislation that spawned another landmark abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Now Sen. Casey is in the position of watching the Supreme Court potentially overturn Roe v. Wade two years before he faces reelection while his party’s activists mobilize against any such decision.
He is casting his new position as a reaction to what he characterizes as an unforeseen move by Republicans in Congress to try to effectively ban abortion nationwide. Casey said he will support the Democrats’ bill, if there is a final vote on it. And he said he has never voted for — and does not support — a complete ban on abortion.