Wisconsin senator falls short with claim on Democrats backing of abortions up to the moment of birth

Abortion rights have emerged as a key issue as Republicans and Democrats plot strategies for the 2024 election. 

President Joe Biden and Democrats have focused on the issue to drive voters to the polls, with Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning on reproductive rights in swing states such as Wisconsin. 

Meanwhile, some Republicans have been trying to fire up their base, including U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who offered this claim in an April 15 interview on "The Tony Kinnett Cast" podcast:

 "Every Senate Democrat has voted to support unlimited abortions up to the moment of birth."

Is he right?

When we asked for backup, Johnson’s spokesperson Kiersten Pels said the senator was "making the point that the media will not cover that the Democrats are the ones who hold the extreme position on abortion." 

In terms of evidence backing the claim, Pels cited two measures. We are using her words here, as perspective on how she is interpreting what the measures do. 

• "In 2022, every Senate Democrat with the exception of Joe Manchin voted in favor of (Women’s Health Protection Act) which would enshrine abortion into law up until the moment of birth and block state laws with protections against late-term abortions."

• "In January 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act which would protect infants who survive an attempted abortion by ensuring they receive the same care as any other newborn. Every single Republican voted in favor, while every single Democrat voted against it — with the exception of Rep. Cuellar, who was exiled for his position."

Let’s set aside for a moment whether the measures are accurately described and start with a couple obvious points.

First, if Manchin did not vote for the 2022 measure, then it is plainly clear that Johnson’s "every Democrat" phrasing is wrong. 

Second, as evidence of Senate votes, Johnson’s team is citing votes from the U.S. House of Representatives. That measure has not even come up for a vote in the Senate, so the senator’s evidence is, well, lacking at best.

Let’s dig deeper. Do the measures do what Johnson claims they do?

According to www.congress.gov, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, introduced in the Senate on May 3, 2022, prohibits all governmental restrictions on access to abortion services. There has been one roll call vote on the bill.

Manchin, R-W.Va., voted no along with Republican senators on the measure. The vote was 49 Yes and 51 No.

Johnson’s staff claims the measure "would enshrine abortion into law up until the moment of birth and block state laws with protections against late-term abortions."

That’s wrong.

On the contrary, the measure — which has not become law — protects the right to an abortion up until the point of fetal viability, which is roughly reached at 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

After that point, the legislation protects the right to abortion only "when, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health," according to the bill's text. Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

According to a congress.gov summary of the Born-Alive act, the measure establishes requirements for the degree of care a healthcare practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion.

Featured Fact-check

Kelda Helen Roys

stated on July 19, 2018 in a TV ad

"In Wisconsin, abortion is still a crime."  

Specifically, the summary says, "a health care practitioner who is present must
(1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirement must immediately report such failure to law enforcement."

A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties — a fine, up to five years in prison, or both, according to the summary.

The Born-Alive measure passed the House Jan. 11, 2023, on a 220-210 vote, with 219 Republicans voting yes, along with one Democrat; the 210 nos were Democrats. 

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, said Johnson’s claim is an "absurd and abject falsehood" and that the measure would make something illegal that is already illegal because doctors already have an obligation to provide appropriate medical care. 

"Abortion ‘up to the moment of birth’ simply doesn’t happen." Murray said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin.  "Abortions later in pregnancy are extraordinarily rare and occur essentially only when a pregnancy is nonviable and the mother risks severe injury or death by remaining pregnant."

And, as noted, it has not come up for a vote in the Senate — so Johnson is presenting conjecture, not evidence.

Johnson said "Every Senate Democrat has voted to support unlimited abortions up to the moment of birth." 

But Johnson’s evidence is flawed at best. He cites one bill that a Democratic senator, Manchin, opposed – so on the face it’s not "every Democrat" – and, in any case, it doesn’t do what he claims. The second measure cited has not even come to the Senate for a vote. 

We rate the claim False. 

RELATED: US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, says the Democrats’ Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 "would permit abortion up until delivery." Mostly False. 

RELATED: Donald Trump says "The Democrat(ic) position on abortion is now so extreme that they don’t mind executing babies AFTER birth." False.