Johnson supports banning abortion after 20 weeks
Senator says he opposes Alabama’s new strict law
OSHKOSH - U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Saturday he opposes Alabama’s new law aimed at eliminating almost all abortions and wasn’t ready to get behind legislation that would ban the practice after six weeks.
Instead, the Republican from Oshkosh said he would like to impose a national ban on abortion after 20 weeks using federal legislation similar to laws in Wisconsin and some other states.
Johnson told reporters he wished the U.S. Supreme Court had not legalized abortion in 1973 in the Roe v. Wade case, saying the issue should
have been left for state legislators and voters to decide.
“We should have let that process play out democratically, state by state,” Johnson said. “The fact of the matter is, you allow it that way, if you don’t like the result in your state that you currently reside in, you can move.
“But had that played out state by state, my guess, we would have pretty much a uniform standard, and we’d protect life in the womb of a mother far earlier than we do now.”
He acknowledged that if it had been left up to the states, there might be dramatically different abortion laws around the country.
“I would prefer that result to what we have right now,” Johnson said.
State Rep. Chris Taylor, a Madison Democrat, said Johnson’s remarks show disregard for the health and lives of women.
“It’s clear that Republican politicians are intent on banning abortion in every instance, even in tragic circumstances when wanted pregnancies go terribly wrong,” she said.
Johnson made his comments to reporters during the state Republican Party’s annual convention at the Best Western Hotel and Convention Center in Oshkosh. As the only Republican holding statewide office, he now leads the party in Wisconsin.
Johnson has backed federal legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. He said he hoped the idea could gain traction with both parties, even though Democrats have generally opposed abortion restrictions.
He also praised federal legislation that Democrats have blocked that would send doctors to prison if they failed to provide medical care to babies who were delivered after an attempted abortion.
He spoke to reporters three days after the Republican-led state Assembly passed similar “born alive” legislation. Republicans in the state Senate plan to pass the measure next month, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has said he will veto it because failing to provide care in such cases is already illegal.
But Republicans in the statehouse have not pursued further-reaching abortion restrictions that have taken off
“I wouldn’t be supporting that, no.” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Alabama’s law banning almost all abortions in the hope of eventually overturning Roe v. Wade.
in other states. Johnson, similarly, showed no appetite for focusing on that kind of legislation.
He expressed reservations about trying to pass laws like those in Iowa and some other states aimed at banning abortion after around six weeks, when some women don’t know they’re pregnant. Those laws have been challenged in court.
“That’s pretty early in the process, and I may personally support that, but in terms of public policy and what voters — and that’s what you really need to do ... you have to gain a consensus of voters,” he said. “Where we will end up ultimately in this country, I can’t really predict.”
This week, Alabama approved a law banning almost all abortions in the hope of eventually overturning Roe. The law does not include exceptions for rape or incest, and Johnson said he could not back it.
“I wouldn’t be supporting that, no,” he said.
Johnson spoke to reporters as his backers encourage him to run for a third term in 2022 or campaign for governor that year.
“You never say never,” Johnson said. But he added his preference would be to leave public office when his term ends.