Luria stretches Kiggans' comment on proposed 15-week U.S. abortion ban

Like many Democrats across the nation, U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria, R-Virginia, is trying to make abortion rights the central issue in her hotly contested reelection bid against Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans. 

"After months of lying, Jen Kiggans’ campaign confirmed today that she would support a national abortion ban," Luria tweeted on Sept. 14. "She’s too extreme for Coastal Virginia."

Has Kiggans endorsed a national abortion ban? We fact-checked Luria’s claim and found she has stretched some hazy statements recently made by Kiggans’ campaign.

At issue is a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that would set a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The measure allows exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when continuing a pregnancy would endanger the mother’s life.

The bill has almost no chance of passing the Democratic-led House of Representatives this year. And if Republicans win majorities in the House and Senate during this fall’s elections and a similar bill passed next year, President Joe Biden seems certain to veto it.

Even so, the bill has stoked already heated debate on abortion following the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established a constitutional right to an abortion. The June ruling empowered states to set their own abortion laws and was praised by Kiggans.

Graham’s bill would allow states that have outlawed most abortions, or set restrictions at less than 15 weeks, to keep their laws. The bill would affect states, including Virginia, that allow abortions after 15 weeks. 

Kiggans has been difficult to pin down on abortion. She said she is "100%, unapologetically pro-life" while campaigning in the Republican primary this year but added few details. She modified her language this fall, vaguely saying she supports "commonsense" restrictions on abortions.

After Democrats pushed Kiggans to take a position on Graham’s bill, Kiggans’ campaign spokesman Bryan Piligra told news outlets, "The vast majority of Virginians — and Americans — support commonsense restrictions on abortion such as protecting babies from 15 weeks on."

We tried three times to reach Piligra for elaboration, but got no response. Other news outlets were also unable to get more details from the spokesman.

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Luria’s campaign said Piligra’s statement justified its claim that "Kiggans’ campaign confirmed … she would support a national abortion ban." But there are problems with that conclusion.

First, Luria’s claim — stated in large letters at the top of her tweet — suggests Kiggans supports an outright abortion ban. Kiggans has not called for that and Graham’s bill would not establish one. Nationally, 95.7% of abortions in 2019 occurred before or during the 15th week of pregnancy, where Graham would set the limit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Luria does quote a newsletter at the bottom of her tweet, in smaller type, that mentions the 15-week limit.

Second, while Kiggans seemed to praise Graham’s bill, she stopped short of endorsing it. The Washington Post said, Kiggans "called a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks a ‘commonsense’ restriction but did not say whether she would vote for it."

Virginia news outlets recognized this distinction and said that Kiggans "suggested" or "implied" she would support a 15-week national ban. 

The news reports also noted Kiggans’ mixed messages on abortion. For example, her seeming openess to Graham’s bill is at odds with her insistence that abortion should be a state matter. 

Luria is standing by her tweet. 

"Jen Kiggans praised a national abortion ban bill when it was introduced and then refused to follow up with reporters when asked for more details on her position," Luria campaign spokesman Jayce Genco wrote in an email. "Women’s reproductive health is on the ballot this November and we will not apologize for responding to the rare statements that she makes on this issue."

Luria tweeted, "Jen Kiggans’ campaign confirmed today that she would support a national abortion ban." At the bottom of the tweet, Luria noted she was talking about a proposed national abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Asked to comment on a proposed 15-week abortion ban, Kiggans’ spokesman said most American "support commonsense restrictions on abortion such as protecting babies from 15 weeks on." That clearly suggests Kiggans is open to the idea, but it does not confirm that she supports a ban. Kiggans has not clarified her position.

We rate Luria’s statement Half True.