- Oct 17, 2011
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Conservative dissenters block abortion limits in Nebraska, South Carolina
The failure of strict new abortion laws to advance in two conservative-dominated legislatures on the same day this week signaled a mounting fear among some Republicans that abortion bans could lead to political backlash.A near-total ban on abortion failed Thursday in South Carolina, just hours before a six-week ban fizzled in Nebraska. Abortion remains legal in both states until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
While it was [all 3 GOP] women who helped defeat the measure in South Carolina, in Nebraska it was an 80-year-old man who stalled it. Sen. Merv Riepe, a longtime Republican who would have been the decisive vote to advance the bill to a final round of voting, abstained over his concern that the six-week ban might not give women enough time to know they are pregnant.
Conservatives have pushed GOP leaders to seize the opportunity to enact strict bans, but voters across the country have repeatedly demonstrated their strong support for abortion rights, striking down antiabortion amendments even in conservative states like Kentucky and Kansas.
During a particularly heated debate, some Republican lawmakers opposed to the near-total ban said that abortion foes sent them plastic spines and notes urging the recipients to “grow a spine.” The move only seemed to strengthen their resolve.
After the South Carolina bill died Thursday, Students for Life Action, the political wing of the Students for Life antiabortion group, posted on Twitter, telling supporters “not to be fooled by fake pro-life Republicans.”
Several Republican-led states have successfully pushed through abortion restrictions this year, despite public opinion. In Wyoming and North Dakota, lawmakers passed new legislation outlawing almost all abortions. And Florida’s Republican-led legislature passed a six-week abortion ban earlier this month, which was signed into law hours later by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
[Despite the failure of the near-total ban in SC,] a separate six-week ban in South Carolina already passed the Senate and could still become law this session if the House passes the bill before it ends in six days.
