Josh Hawley on U.S. Politics

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Josh Hawley

Role at the time: United States Senator for Missouri, responding to questions from Axios

March 19, 2026Defended or excused

Statement summary

Asked by Axios about Republican unease that his bill would raise abortion before the midterm elections, Hawley said the measure was not driven by the electoral calendar but by protecting women's health and the unborn. He added that opposition to abortion is "a foundational issue for the Republican Party" and that anti-abortion voters are the party's most dependable.

“This isn't about a political cycle, this is about protecting the health and safety of women, and also protecting the unborn.”

Open sourceHawley's abortion pill move puts Republican senators in a bind · AxiosAxios, March 19, 2026. Report on Senate Republican reaction to the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act.

The fullest available account of Senate Republican reluctance on the bill, with direct responses from Husted and Tillis, Hawley's reply to Axios, and Marjorie Dannenfelser's criticism of the Trump administration's handling of mifepristone litigation.

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Why we used this label

The case's fixed reference point is Hawley's proposition that Congress should ban mifepristone by revoking its federal approval. He defends that proposition against the objection that it is electorally reckless, restating its justification rather than qualifying it. The closest competing label is mixed_or_conditional, since he is responding to a political objection rather than making a fresh policy argument. That loses because he concedes nothing and attaches no condition; the remark reaffirms the ban on the same grounds he gave when introducing it.

Read statement Should Congress ban the abortion pill, mifepristone, as Josh Hawley has proposed?

Josh Hawley on U.S. Politics

Statement history