GOP Governor SCHOOLS ABC, Klobuchar on Federalism of Abortion Limits

For liberal media outlets and Sunday programs on their network, abortion was the most talked about topic. But on ABC’s This WeekAsa Hutchinson, the Republican Arkansas Governor, calmly and shrewdly responded to these hyperbolic remarks. Throughout his interview with fill-in host Martha Raddatz, he schooled her on conservative policy towards protecting the right to life, his goal to further support mothers and the children saved by his state’s abortion limitations, and he championed to keep the debate in the states.

Ahead of his interview, Raddatz spoke with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who proved she didn’t understand federalism. She decried America having a “patchwork of laws” around abortion and asked “how can that be[?]”

 

 

Hutchinson began to tackle this problem. He argued “in terms of Arkansas law, our law simply expresses the will of the people of Arkansas, Senator Klobuchar really didn’t address that. And the fact is, each state has differing views on where we should have on abortion restrictions.”

And as Hutchinson was defending his state’s trigger law, Raddatz interrupted to press him with what she might have assumed was a gotcha question. “What would you say to those women who seek an abortion, who don’t have the money to travel, who don’t have the money to raise a child, what would you say to them?”

But Hutchinson had an answer for her that she probably didn’t expect. Essentially confronting the false liberal narrative that Republicans don’t care about the mother or child after birth, he explained: “You have to understand that, you have to provide services. And I believe that we want to increase the services for maternal health, to increase the services for adoption services as well.”

 

 

Raddatz didn’t seem to like that he had an answer for her, so as he was talking about his personal opinion about limitations, she interrupted to press him… on his personal opinion about limitations:

HUTCHINSON I’ve always expressed–

RADDATZ: Do you want to see these exceptions?

HUTCHINSON — These exceptions matter. Yes. I stated when I signed the law that I preferred the incest and rape exceptions to be there.

If asked: “Why do you support those exceptions?” Hutchinson noted, “even though we believe life begins at conception that we try to save lives, the life of the unborn and to do that and to gain public acceptance.”

Hutchinson stated that it was crucial to hear the wishes of the public. “And so, there’s the principle involved of life begins at conception in difficult circumstances, but those are accommodations made to get public acceptance of the limitations and saving more unborn lives and that’s the object of it,” he said

With Raddatz pushing the narrative that conservatives wanted a national ban, Hutchinson denounced it as “inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for four decades. Which is, we wanted the Roe vs. Wade reversed and the authority returned to the states.”

He concluded by explaining the constitutionality of abortion being a states’ issue since Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said so in his draft opinion:

If you take a look at the Constitution or any national standard, it is against this thrust of states having prerogative. Second, there are constitutional questions about a national norm and what authority the Constitution has to make it a reality.

And Martha, there’s a fundamental point that everybody describes this as right. The court will reverse Roe vs. Wade, stating that the Constitution doesn’t provide this. It returns the power to the States. That makes complete sense according to the Constitution. That’s the place for vigorous discussion.

Raddatz was then done with the interview, as the schooling continued for five more minutes.

CarMax sponsored the successful pressing of Raddatz’s left. You can find their contact information here.

Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:

ABC’s This Week
May 8, 2022
Eastern, 9:19:42

(…)

MARTHA RADDATZ : Governor, if Roe is overturned the bill that you signed last year prohibiting abortion in your State would immediately go into effect once your State Attorney General signs it. However, there is one exception to this bill, which protects the mother. You would like to speak to these women from your state, whether they can afford to go to an abortion clinic, have a baby, are pregnant, or were the victims or raped.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON, R-AR: Thank you Martha and happy Mother’s Day to all.

In Arkansas law terms, the law expresses only the will of Arkansas citizens, and Senator Klobuchar didn’t really address this. Each state may have different views about where to place restrictions on abortion.

Arkansas has a policy that protects the life and health of unborn children. If Roe Vs. Wade were to be overturned, we’d have the trigger legislation in place for protecting the lives of unborn children. It is crucial to pursue this matter and have a conviction. It has divided the country, and this division has continued for many decades.

RADDATZ (interrupts):  Governor, I want to go back to my question about those women. What would you say to those women who seek an abortion, who don’t have the money to travel, who don’t have the money to raise a child, what would you say to them?

HUTCHINSON : First of all, and again, this is where you heart goes out for them. I have had to cope with the very difficult circumstances that are rape, incest, and governor. That’s not easy. It is important to realize that you provide services. It is my belief that the goal should be to expand the services available for mother health and to provide more services to adoptive parents.

So, we will invest in areas that can help pregnant women living with extremely difficult situations. There will be an ongoing debate on rape, incest, and other exceptions. Although we do not currently have the Arkansas trigger law allowing for rape or incest, I expect that it will become a topic of discussion. I’ve always expressed–

RADDATZ: Do you want to see these exceptions?

HUTCHINSON — These exceptions matter. Yes. When I signed that law, I said I wanted the exceptions for rape and incest to be included. And even though we have the trigger law, I expect those exceptions to be part of the debate in the future even though we’re going to immediately going to go to restrict abortions with exception of the life of the mother in danger.

RADDATZ: What makes you stand for these exceptions?

HUTCHINSON These exceptions have been deemed acceptable exceptions to the abortion restrictions by most people.

So, while there is the basic principle that life begins when conception occurs in challenging circumstances, those accommodations are made to gain public acceptance and save more unborn children.

RADDATZ Mitch McConnell told U.S. Today, it’s possible Republicans will pursue a national ban. What would you think?

HUTCHINSON, I believe that is incompatible with our fight for the past four decades. We wanted Roe vs. Wade to be reversed, and that the power go back to the States. It should remain there as a matter principle.

This is a problem if you take a look at the national or constitutional standard. A second issue is that I believe there are constitutional concerns about the national standard and the power under the Constitution.

And Martha, there’s a fundamental point that everybody describes this as right. The court will reverse Roe vs. Wade, stating that the Constitution doesn’t provide this. It returns the power to the States. That makes complete sense according to the Constitution.

That’s the place for vigorous discussion. This is the place where there will be many concerns about compassion. It will be determined by different states. However, the people will express their opinions through representatives. This makes complete sense, and is consistent with the Constitution.   

RADDATZ – Okay Governor.

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