Conservative Missouri Senator Josh Hawley claimed on Friday that he opposed a “nationwide abortion ban,” but then immediately said he wanted “sensible restrictions at the federal level.”

Such a federal restriction, he said during a debate between Missouri Senate candidates on Friday, should read “when the baby is capable of feeling pain” – a formulation that is modeled on the bill he co-sponsored to enforce a national ban on abortion starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Hawley also criticized a bill on the ballot in November that would restore abortion in Missouri. Missouri has an almost complete ban on abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. He falsely claimed the bill would “override our state ban on transgender surgery on minors.”

The senator and former attorney general has long described himself as “100 percent pro-life.” In 2021, Hawley said abortion was murder and compared it to the “moral evil of slavery.” But as abortion bans became a reality in America and politically controversial, he pretended to take a middle position on abortion, not giving an inch.

In May 2022, when it became clear that the conservative-dominated Supreme Court Roe v. Wadeending federal protections for abortion rights, Hawley said he would not support “a federal ban.” He argued the issue should be left to the states – but also that “Congress can look for areas where there is a national consensus and act accordingly.”

A few months later, Hawley signed the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children From Late-Term Abortions Act, a law that bans abortion nationwide beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy. Last year, he urged Republican presidential candidates to support a nationwide ban beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy, portraying it as a moderate position. “I think there’s a national consensus on that,” he said.

Although he supports a nationwide ban after 15 weeks, Hawley claimed during Friday’s debate, “I do not support a nationwide ban.” He quickly nodded and pointed to his actual position: “I support common-sense federal restrictions – limits on abortion, such as late-term abortion when the baby is capable of feeling pain.”

The bill, co-sponsored by Hawley, would establish a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks and allow states to impose further restrictions – allowing Republican states to maintain their near-total abortion ban while the procedure would be banned after 15 weeks in the rest of the country.

Missouri bans abortion at any point in pregnancy and makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. Although the ban does make an exception for medical emergencies, a recent letter signed by hundreds of the state’s doctors suggests that this isn’t necessarily helpful. “Missourians are being denied abortions and forced to continue life-threatening pregnancies, risking their health and lives,” they wrote. “Doctors cannot treat patients with heartbreaking pregnancy complications until they are near death. Otherwise, they could be sent to prison.”

Although Hawley has said he supports exceptions for rape and incest, he has actively opposed a change to Missouri’s election law that would allow abortion in the state again. He did so again on Friday, claiming the change would lift the state’s ban on “transgender surgery on minors.” He added, “They talk about reproductive health, but in reality it allows transgender surgery on minors without parental consent.”

That’s false, as Hawley’s Democratic opponent Lucas Kunce stressed on Friday. “This has nothing to do with sex reassignment surgery,” Kunce said. “He sees mandatory sex reassignment surgery on every corner because he believes that’s how he’s going to stir people up and actually win the election. That’s not true.”

Hawley persisted, arguing that liberal groups that support abortion say, “Reproductive health care means sex reassignment surgery, hormone treatments and puberty blockers for minors.” In fact, Missouri’s amendment would only allow abortions up to fetal viability, or 24 weeks of pregnancy, as previously required by law.

Both Hawley and his wife Erin played a key role in convincing the Supreme Court Roe v. Wadepaving the way for Missouri’s near-total abortion ban to go into effect. Erin Hawley is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom who says she helped draft the Mississippi abortion law that the Supreme Court used to end the state’s right to abortion. She reportedly helped the Mississippi Attorney General’s office prepare its legal opinion in the case. Josh Hawley, for his part, filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court urging the justices to strike down the law. roe.

The senator had previously called on then-President Donald Trump to only nominate judges to the Supreme Court who openly oppose roeHawley also voted against legislation to codify roeThe Supreme Court has made a bid for federal abortion protection by overturning its landmark 1973 ruling.

During Friday’s debate, Hawley sought to portray a return to the previous status quo – nationwide legalization of abortion – as extreme.

“What I will not support is using taxpayer money to force abortion on demand up to nine months into the state of Missouri and all other states,” he said. “That’s what Lucas Kunce wants. That’s what the Democrats in Congress have repeatedly tried to force on us.”