Mitch McConnell Says Federal Lawmakers Could Ban Abortion Across The Nation
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned in an interview Saturday that a national ban on abortion is “possible” if the Supreme Court guts Roe v. Wade as it’s expected to do — and federal lawmakers then pass a law prohibiting abortion across the country.
That would mean pregnant Americans would have to travel out of the U.S. to obtain an abortion.
McConnell discussed the future of abortion rights in the U.S. in an interview with USA Today in the wake of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would gut Roe v. Wade along with a half-century of reproductive freedoms for women.
“If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies — not only at the state level, but at the federal level — certainly could legislate in that area,” McConnell said.
He raised the possibility of a national ban when asked in the interview if such a thing was “worthy of debate.”
If the draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and published by Politico turns out to be the final decision, “that was the point,” McConnell said, “that it should be resolved one way or another in the legislative process. So yeah, it’s possible,” he added, referring to a national ban on abortion.
McConnell indicated it’s “clear” that Republicans oppose abortion.
“With regard to the abortion issue, I think it’s pretty clear where Senate Republicans stand,” McConnell told USA Today.
“And if and when the court makes a final decision, I expect everybody will be more definitive,” he added. “I don’t think it’s much secret where Senate Republicans stand on that issue.”
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
