John McCormack reports:
When I briefly caught up with Senator Joe Manchin today in a Capitol hallway, the West Virginia Democrat said he “absolutely” still supports the 20-week federal abortion limit he has voted for on multiple occasions. While Manchin said he has not yet seen text of Senator Lindsey Graham’s new bill to prohibit most abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy and beyond, Manchin said he was “very interested” in the new legislation.
Is Joe Manchin remotely capable of joined-up thinking? When Dobbs was decided, Manchin said:
I am deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. It has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years and was understood to be settled precedent. I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans.
As a Catholic, I was raised pro-life and will always consider myself pro-life. But I have come to accept that my definition of pro-life may not be someone else’s definition of pro-life. I believe that exceptions should be made in instances of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. But let me be clear, I support legislation that would codify the rights Roe v. Wade previously protected. I am hopeful Democrats and Republicans will come together to put forward a piece of legislation that would do just that.
As a statement, this was nonsense from start to finish. Manchin was “deeply disappointed” that the Court had overturned Roe, because . . . he’s “pro-life” — which, in his case meant that he was in favor of the sort of exceptions that many pro-lifers support, and that was why he wanted to . . . “codify the rights Roe v. Wade previously protected,” which ensured that no abortion restrictions of any sort could be passed, and to get that done he hoped that the Republicans who had fought against Roe for half a century would come together with the Democrats to undo Dobbs, which, if achieved, would . . . prevent Joe Manchin from passing the sorts of pro-life laws that, on other occasions, he has insisted he wants to pass.
Laws such as . . . the “20-week federal abortion” ban that Manchin says he “absolutely” still supports, and the 15-week federal abortion ban that Manchin now says he is “very interested” in considering — both of which would only pass constitutional muster* now that Dobbs has been decided, and would be rendered instantly illegal by the “codification” of Roe v. Wade that, back in June, Joe Manchin vehemently insisted he supported.
What a joke.
*I think federal abortion laws are unconstitutional for other reasons