HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) 鈥� Abortion rights, suddenly a potent political force in the aftermath of to leave such matters to the states, have found an unlikely champion in swing state Pennsylvania.
Sen. Bob Casey, who will appear on the November ballot beneath President Joe Biden as the Democrats both seek reelection, has begun doing something he's never done before: attacking an opponent over .
The senator, who once called himself a 鈥減ro-life Democrat,鈥� accuses Republican challenger David McCormick in a new TV ad of wanting to 鈥渕ake abortion illegal even in cases of rape and incest鈥� 鈥� a characterization McCormick says is wrong.
Speaking to an online gathering of the progressive women鈥檚 advocacy group Red Wine & Blue earlier this month, Casey warned that electing a Republican president and a new Republican Senate majority could result in bans on the and , even in Democratic-controlled states 鈥� or purple states like Pennsylvania 鈥� where abortion remains legal.
鈥淵ou could have blue-state impact whether it鈥檚 a blue-state ban that affects contraception or whether it鈥檚 a blue-state ban when it comes to abortion because of ,鈥� Casey said.
That's quite a reframing for Casey, who like his father and Biden comes from an Irish Catholic family in Scranton. His father, who was a two-term governor of Pennsylvania, opposed abortion rights and signed legislation restricting abortion that spawned the landmark 1992 case .
Sen. Casey, whose race is seen as crucial to Democrats' effort to defend their razor-thin Senate majority, says the Supreme Court's decision to for abortion in the abortion debate and prompted a 鈥減ro-life Democrat鈥� to support access to abortion.
Casey has suggested that 鈥減ro-life鈥� never meant a complete ban on abortion without exception, at least to him. After the court's forthcoming decision had , Casey supported Democrats' legislation to keep abortion legal to the Roe v. Wade standard of barring abortion only after viability, around 24 weeks.
鈥淓veryone in the Senate had a choice to make,鈥� Casey told The Associated Press. 鈥淵ou had to decide, basically, whether you鈥檇 support banning abortion or not. And that was a choice you had to make. And the choice was also a choice about legislation. ... And I decided that I would support advancing that bill and thereby not being in the ban-abortion column.鈥�
He had broken with Democrats in the past in supporting bills to ban abortions after 20 weeks and to block federal funding for abortion.
But he also had emphasized reducing abortions through services that prevent unwanted pregnancies and help pregnant women and young mothers, a reason he has given for backing federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
When the court overturned Roe v. Wade, Casey slammed it as ripping away a constitutional right and a dangerous decision that wouldn鈥檛 stop abortions but would put women鈥檚 lives at risk.
Democrats have been happy to embrace Casey鈥檚 recalibrated position.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe he ever wanted those (pro-life) beliefs to ever stand in the way of access to abortion, and now his position matters more than it did just two years ago,鈥� said Brittany Crampsie, a Democratic strategist.
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, who studies the history and , said she thinks Casey had begun drifting from the anti-abortion movement well before the court overturned Roe v. Wade.
He was probably both pulled by a Democratic Party becoming more supportive of abortion rights and pushed by an anti-abortion movement becoming more aligned with Republicans and Christian conservatives, Ziegler said.
鈥淚f you take politics out of it, it鈥檚 possible that Casey has one of those purple positions on abortion that doesn't tend to track with what either movement is doing," Ziegler said.
Many Americans hold middle-of-the-road beliefs on abortion, Ziegler said, and Casey鈥檚 stance isn鈥檛 out of step with many lay Catholics. According to Pew Research Center surveys, 56% of U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Politically speaking, abortion rights has been a winner on the ballot since the court decision, even in red states such as , and , where the outcomes favored keeping abortion access legal.
McCormick attacks Casey from the right. He accuses Casey of wanting to allow abortion 鈥渦p until the moment of birth,鈥� a refrain Republicans are using to attack Democrats' legislation, which allows an exception for abortions after fetal viability in extremely rare situations when a doctor determines the life or health of the mother is at risk.
Democrats say doctors 鈥� and not the government 鈥� should be making such decisions.
Meanwhile, McCormick says he opposes abortion, with three exceptions 鈥� rape, incest and to save the life of the mother 鈥� and not just one exception, as Casey contends. McCormick also says he wouldn鈥檛 vote for a federal abortion ban.
Casey, now in his eighth statewide campaign, has never previously wielded abortion rights as a weapon. He has been on defense, however.
In the 2002 Democratic primary for governor, Casey told a radio interviewer that he favored one exception, to save the life of the mother. But, he said, if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade then he, if elected governor, would sign legislation with all three exceptions, including rape and incest, 鈥渁nd it would have the effect of reducing the number of abortions in the state.鈥�
Casey ultimately lost to Ed Rendell, who received support from the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, which ran ads against Casey because of his opposition to abortion rights.
In Senate races, Casey鈥檚 Republican opponents have tried to poke holes in his 鈥減ro-life" bona fides by pointing out that he opposed proposals to halt federal payments to Planned Parenthood.
Casey in 2006 was first recruited by national Democrats to run when he still wore the label of 鈥減ro-life Democrat.鈥� He hasn鈥檛 faced a serious primary challenger in his four campaigns for the Senate.
Republicans frame his evolution on the issue as pure politics. They say he changed his position to survive the party鈥檚 leftward drift and never truly opposed abortion, like his father did.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you go from defending life to the ad he鈥檚 running against Dave McCormick,鈥� said Matt Beynon, a Republican strategist who worked on Lou Barletta鈥檚 against Casey in 2018.
Democratic strategists insist that Casey鈥檚 evolution is natural and reflects a generational shift in which abortion is discussed alongside health care and contraception.
Christine Jacobs, who founded Represent PA, an organization to help elect Democratic women to Pennsylvania's Legislature, said Casey has spent years of thinking about it and talking about it with his staff.
Still, Democratic strategists are stumped by the question of whether Casey could have been the party鈥檚 unquestioned nominee in 2024 had he supported a ban when the party鈥檚 activists were mobilizing over abortion rights.
It鈥檚 an academic question now. But Jacobs 鈥� who, like Casey, grew up Catholic 鈥� thinks there would have been sufficient outrage.
鈥淚 think he would have had to pull out,鈥� Jacobs said. 鈥淎t least, I鈥檇 like to think that.鈥�
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Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report. Follow Marc Levy at .
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Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the 2024 election at .
Marc Levy, The Associated Press
