Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott said in a new interview that he would sign a 15-week abortion ban if elected president, saying that America can’t have states allowing abortions up to birth.
Some pro-life groups have asked the Republican presidential hopefuls to agree to at least a 15-week minimum of protection for unborn babies — in part to help distinguish between their pro-life views and the radical abortion-up-to-birth stance of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and most all Democrats.
Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, among others, have said they would sign such a bill into law and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is on board with the idea as well. Such a bill would not overturn or reverse abortion bans or heartbeat laws that provide legal protection for babies from conception or a recognizable heartbeat — instead of would let states protect babies further but merely stop Democrat states from allowing the killing of unborn children up to birth as many blue states from California and Oregon to New York and Illinois already do.
Scott told EWTN in a interview that, if elected president, he would build a “culture of life in America.”
“As president of the United States, I would sign very conservative pro-life legislation, and that’s why we start with a 15-week limit across the nation,” he said. “We cannot allow states like California or Illinois to have abortion up until the day of birth. That is just wrong.”
He added that after stopping policies allowing abortion up until birth “creating the culture of life is how we win and are successful in saving more lives.”
Scott has previously indicated he would sign a 15-week protection for unborn babies.
“If I were president of the United States, I would certainly have a 15-week limit,” Scott told Axios earlier this year.
“I’ve also said very clearly, because I think you have to tell the American people the truth, even the 15-week limit is not possible unless we change the hearts and minds of the American people, because it can’t get through Congress,” Scott continued.
Because of the lack of votes, however, Scott said he wants to work to change hearts and minds on abortion – explaining that his role as president “on the issue of life is to cultivate a culture that protects life.” He told the news outlet he is “100% pro-life conservative.”
Such legislation would not overturn pro-life laws in the more than a dozen states that currently protect babies from abortion. It would merely protect babies in pro-abortion states that currently allow abortions up to birth or up to viability.
Showing his support for legislation that protects even more babies from abortions, last week Scott hailed South Carolina’s new heartbeat law as “good news.”
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The new law, which Gov. Henry McMaster signed, protects unborn babies by banning elective abortions once their heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy. Scott said the new protections for unborn babies are a step in the right direction.
“The state is trying to protect the culture of life, and that’s good news. I mean, the heartbeat bill is a step in the direction of that,” Scott said.
Scott, who announced his campaign for president last week, has a 100-percent pro-life voting record in the U.S. Senate. Growing up in North Charleston, South Carolina, he was raised by a single mom and overcame poverty to become a businessman before running for elected office.
“I will protect our most fundamental right, the right to life itself,” he said in an April video from his presidential exploratory committee.
