A possible national ban on abortion got the thumbs-down on Sunday from the governor of Arkansas, a prominent Republican, who said the policy would be “inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson took issue with remarks by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said a national ban could be on the table if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade as expected.
“I think that’s inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for for decades, which is that we wanted the Roe vs. Wade (ruling) reversed and the authority to return to the states,” Hutchinson said on ABC’s “This Week.” “So, as a matter of principle, that’s where it should be.”
A bombshell leak from the Supreme Court last week showed the majority-conservative body is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case establishing the right to abortion.
A draft of the majority decision showed the court upholding Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks and striking down Roe v. Wade.
The final decision on the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is expected in the coming months and could pave the way for other states to ban abortion.
“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, a Kentucky Republican, said in USA Today on Saturday.
Hutchinson argued against such a prohibition on constitutional grounds.
“If you look at a constitutional or a national standard, that goes against … that trust of the states having prerogative,” he said. “Secondly, I think there’s some constitutional issues with a national standard as well as to … the authority of the Constitution to enact that.”
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