Why Bob Casey is in the hottest of political seats over Roe v. Wade
Casey calls himself a "pro-life Democrat." He'll be closely watched as the Senate debates legislation to protect abortion rights.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is suddenly sitting in the political hot seat, as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that has protected abortion rights for decades.
Unlike most of his Democratic colleagues, Casey is one of the last self-styled “pro-life Democrats” in the Senate, and has consistently opposed Roe v. Wade while voting in support of other abortion rights issues.
On Tuesday afternoon, Casey put out a brief statement expressing “concerns” about what would happen if the court overturns the 1973 landmark decision — as suggested by a draft opinion obtained by Politico and published Monday night — but did not offer an explicit stance.
» READ MORE: Leaked Supreme Court draft opinion would overturn Roe v. Wade, Politico reports
The pressure on Casey is only bound to increase on Capitol Hill, where a slim Democratic majority is renewing calls to codify abortion rights under federal law amid ferocious Republican opposition.
Here’s the quick backstory of Casey’s stance on abortion.
Why Casey calls himself a ‘pro-life Democrat’
Casey is the Catholic son of another famously antiabortion Pennsylvania Democrat, former Gov. Bob Casey Sr.
Throughout the younger Casey’s career, he has positioned himself as a careful moderate in one of the nation’s biggest swing states. And his branding as a “pro-life Democrat” has been key to that balance.
“What it means is I try to support policies that help women and children both before and after birth,” Casey told Politico in 2018. “Part of that is making sure you are honest about differences but also at the same time trying to focus on ways to reduce both the number of abortions and the number of unwanted pregnancies, and I think my record reflects that.”
In straddling that line, Casey has clashed with groups on both sides of the issue, earning praise from antiabortion groups for his opposition to the Roe decision, while riling those same groups by backing funding for Planned Parenthood.
On the other hand, he has angered some moderates and Democrats by backing GOP measures like the ban on abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
What is Casey’s view on Roe v. Wade?
Casey opposes Roe and opposes the taxpayer funding of abortions. In the same breath, he says he opposes GOP efforts to weaponize the issue, instead steering the conversation toward supporting resources for pregnant women. Casey has advocated for funding abortion rights organizations and increasing access to contraception — and is a noted supporter of Obamacare.
Abortion-rights groups still view him favorably
Despite his pedigree, abortion-rights groups have given Casey favorable reviews. NARAL Pro-Choice America, a nonprofit lobbying group, dropped its grade of Casey’s voting record from 100% to 72% between 2016 and 2020. Planned Parenthood gives Casey an overall score of 67%. (Pennsylvania’s other senator, Republican Pat Toomey, consistently receives 0% marks from both groups, for comparison.)
Has he responded to the leaked Roe v. Wade opinion from the Supreme Court?
Casey ducked questions from reporters in Washington on Tuesday morning. His office released a brief statement in the afternoon, saying that he has concerns about the impact of overturning Roe v. Wade but also emphasizing the need to reduce abortions and unintended pregnancies.
Why Casey’s upcoming votes will be under more scrutiny than ever
The leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion has catalyzed a new push from Democrats to enshrine abortion rights protections into federal law.
In September, the House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act by a thin margin that would preserve protections under Roe. But the bill is now stalled in the Senate, where Casey is one of two Democratic dissenters, alongside West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
However, Casey did vote to begin debating the act in the Senate.
“Given the recent Supreme Court rulings, potential rulings this year, and the Republican Party’s clear and unrelenting use of this issue as a political weapon, I will vote ‘yes’ to allow debate on this bill,” Casey said in February. “I have long worked to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions, and I hope that as part of this debate we will also focus on new and substantial funding for pregnant women, infants, and children.”
Staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this report.