i9 Fact Checker: Ad attacks Sen. Grassley’s position on abortion

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) helped Republicans create a conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court through his role as the highest-ranking GOP Senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

After that conservative majority on Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Democrats have continually attacked Republicans over their abortion stance.

Source: Mike Franken for Iowa

According to documents from the Federal Elections Commission, Mike Franken for Iowa is Admiral Mike Franken’s (D) campaign for United States Senate. The Democrat is running against Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) to become Iowa’s representative in the United States Senate.

Claim #1: Chuck Grassley has been pushing to overturn Roe vs. Wade since it was decided half a century ago.

Analysis: The campaign refers to a report from the Waterloo Courier in October 1976, when Sen. Grassley was running for his second term in the House of Representatives. The paper said Grassley supports an amendment to the United States Constitution, which would ban abortion.

According to the Waterloo Courier, the amendment was a change in his position on abortion from 1974. Then, he said he supported a constitutional amendment allowing states to make these decisions. Two years later he told the paper this was a “cop-out amendment”. Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a federal right to have an abortion, was decided in 1973.

Conclusion: The claim never says Chuck Grassley wants to ban abortion today. It just claims he was trying to overturn Roe v. Wade since it was decided. That is true and that is why it gets an A.

Claim #2: He thinks politicians should be able to ban abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or to save a woman’s life

Analysis: The campaign is using Sen. Grassley’s statement after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was decided in June 2022 and an amicus curiae brief on the case he signed onto along with other Republican senators.

In his written statement, Sen. Grassley praised the decision because it means the federal government no longer stopped the ability for the unborn to have a life.

“For many Americans, including myself, this decision is about far more than correcting a flawed legal analysis in Roe,” Sen. Grassley wrote.”It means that the rights of the unborn are no longer in jeopardy by our federal government.”

He also wrote the decision allows representatives to make decisions on abortion rather than judges.

The brief, which is about 50 pages long, asked the court to uphold Missippi’s abortion restrictions while asking for it to overturn presidents related to abortion. Among other arguments, the brief argued states have a critical interest in regulating abortions in the earlier parts of a pregnancy like protecting a fetus from pain or a woman from getting a more dangerous procedure.

Sen. Grassley’s said he believes states should make decisions on abortion laws within their borders rather than the federal government. Several states have put in bans with no exception for rape or incest, but most have an exception to save a mother’s life like Mississippi’s law. TV9 couldn’t find information showing Sen. Grassley, recently, supported bans with no exceptions.

In this ad, Mike Franken’s campaign argues this means Grassley is okay if a state banned abortion with no exceptions, even to save a mother’s life.

Conclusion: In this ad, Mike Franken’s campaign argues, Grassley is okay if a state banned abortion with no exceptions, even to save a mother’s life. While Grassley has advocated for states to make decisions on abortion bans; this ad takes his position a step further. It gets a ‘C’.

Claim #3: He even supported banning abortion nationwide.

Analysis: The campaign refers to a report from the Waterloo Courier in October 1976, when Sen. Grassley was running for his second term in the House of Representatives. The paper said Grassley supports an amendment to the United States Constitution, which would ban abortion.

The ad also uses a bill, which the Senator Grassley co-sponsored in 2018 called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. According to the congressional research service, the bill would make it a crime for any person to perform an abortion if the fetus is 20 weeks old. Sen. Grassley co-sponsored another version of the bill in 2019.

This bill does have exceptions for saving the life of the mother or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The bill does allow doctors and nurses to face criminal charges for performing the procedure, but not the woman receiving the procedure. Possible consequences, according to the congressional research service, include a prison sentence up to five years, a fine or both.

Today, the Senator said he would like state lawmakers to make those decisions and would vote against federal bans. He has also voted for legislation restricting abortion rights with exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the Mother.

Conclusion: This claim is true. The Senator did support a national ban as recently as 2018 and why it gets an A.

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