The mythical national abortion ban

Elections are just around the corner. A lot will be said by candidates, political operatives and campaigns that simply isn’t accurate. Consider, for example, all of the rhetoric being thrown around about a national abortion ban supposedly supported by Republican candidates for Congress.

We’ve received the emails, seen the ads , and we’re sure many of you have as well.

We’ve read from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee  that, “[Republican Congresswoman] Michelle Steel will stop at nothing to ban abortion and restrict reproductive rights nationwide.”

We’ve read from the campaign of Democratic candidate George Whitesides that, “extreme GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Garcia campaigns on a national abortion ban…”

We’ve seen an ad from the campaign of Democratic candidate Dave Min featuring Republican candidate Scott Baugh next to the words “Abortion Ban With No Exceptions.”

And once again we’ve heard from the DCCC that, “[Republican Congressman] Ken Calvert is so desperate to ban abortion nationwide…”

There are policy disagreements and then there are policy misrepresentations.

If it’s true that the four candidates indeed support a national abortion ban, that would be fair game indeed for those who disagree with them to challenge them on it.

But here’s the thing: this editorial board has interviewed all of these Republican candidates. Not one of them voiced support for a federal ban on abortion and each of them affirmed that they favor leaving the issue to each state to decide for themselves.

It’s fair for Democrats who support abortion rights to be restored nationally to challenge them for their stance, but it’s sleazy to deliberately mislead the public about what the debate actually is and what the candidates actually think.

Democratic Rep. Mike Levin  didn’t go as far as to accuse his opponent of supporting such a ban, but he too went as close as he plausibly could. “A vote for my opponent is a vote to keep Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House,” he wrote in an endorsement survey. “If Mike Johnson is delivered another Republican House majority, he will push for legislation that restricts reproductive rights.”

Meanwhile, Levin’s Republican challenger, Matt Gunderson, has gone so far as to run an ad declaring himself pro-choice and affirming his view that “abortion should be safe, legal and rare,” a Clintonian line he also used in his interview with us.

While the attack line of a “national abortion ban” might work elsewhere in the country, this editorial board has yet to hear from a Republican candidate for Congress who actually supports a federal ban on abortion.

We don’t expect campaigns to suddenly be more honest, but we think it’s important to clarify things at a time when there’s so much noise.