Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick has not called to outlaw abortion

Abortion has emerged as a major issue in Pennsylvania’s race for a U.S. Senate seat, with several ads targeting Republican Dave McCormick’s past statements about abortion restrictions. 

In a recent TV ad, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said McCormick "wants to outlaw abortions." It also says McCormick said he opposes exceptions for abortion restrictions in cases of rape and incest, a claim previous ads also have focused on. 

The committee’s new spot is part of a $79 million national ad blitz that’s running in several states with key U.S. Senate races. It began airing in Pennsylvania on Aug. 7.  

McCormick, a business executive, is hoping to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. McCormick ran for Senate in 2022 and lost the primary to TV personality and heart surgeon Mehmet Oz. 

McCormick’s abortion position has changed through his two Senate campaigns, which came during an upheaval in abortion politics. Although McCormick has previously made statements that could be considered pro abortion restrictions — such as that he "believes life begins at conception" — he has said during the 2024 campaign cycle that he opposes a national abortion ban. In an April interview with a local TV station he said abortion laws should be left to the states. 

"I would not support a ban on abortion," he said. "Listen, this is an area where we have to find common ground."

McCormick also said in the interview that he supports some restrictions on what he called "late-term abortions." He said in an ad he supports Pennsylvania’s law that limits abortion after 24 weeks unless the pregnant woman’s life is at risk. 

McCormick spokesperson Nate Sizemore told PolitiFact in an email, "Dave has said repeatedly he does not support a national abortion ban" and "his position is clearly articulated on our website." 

 McCormick’s campaign website says he "is opposed to a national abortion ban, and supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother."  

When contacted for comment, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pointed to several of McCormick’s past statements, including from his 2022 Senate campaign website, to back up the claims made in the ad. One statement the group cited was from 2022, when McCormick said on Fox News that overturning Roe "would be a huge step forward and a huge victory for the protection of life." 

McCormick’s 2022 campaign website said he was "staunchly pro-life and believes life begins at conception." It also said he will "continue to advocate for the rights of the unborn." It did not clearly state a position on an abortion ban.

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The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pointed us to a video clip  liberal commentator Brian Tyler Cohen posted April 3 on X from McCormick’s 2022 campaign. In the clip, McCormick says, "We have to change the law on life, but more than ever we have to change the culture." 

During an April 2022 primary election debate, McCormick said he believes in "very rare instances" there should be abortion exceptions for the pregnant woman’s life. He did not mention support for exceptions in cases of rape and incest. 

His campaign provided an audio clip from a February 2022 event in Bethel Park, before the debate, in which he said he supported those exceptions. In the audio clip, McCormick responded to an audience member’s question and said, "I do accept three exceptions, the ones you just said. Rape, incest and the life of the mother."

McCormick’s changing rhetoric over time is in keeping with Republicans’ broader messaging shift after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, said Mary Ziegler, a University of California, Davis law professor who studies the history and politics of abortion. 

Since Roe v. Wade ended, abortion restrictions increasingly became less popular among voters and anti-abortion groups have focused on abortion policy changes that do not require congressional action, Ziegler said. 

"Republicans have every incentive to distance themselves from the more sweeping bans," she said. "One, because they’re unpopular, but two, because the base doesn’t even really prioritize them in the same way they might once have." 

In January 2023, 41 congressional Republicans signed a letter urging President Joe Biden’s administration to change its guidance on the Comstock Act, an 1873 law banning mailing certain obscene material and abortion-related items. 

Although the Biden administration has issued guidance saying the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing drugs and surgical equipment used to induce abortions, a future administration could interpret the law more strictly, amounting to a ban on some abortions, Ziegler said.

Casey’s position on abortion has also shifted over the years. He once described himself as a "pro-life Democrat" and supported abortion restrictions. Since the Dobbs decision, Casey has called for abortion protections and voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which sought to codify the abortion protections in effect under Roe v. Wade. 

A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ad said McCormick "wants to outlaw abortions."

The statement has an element of truth, because McCormick does support restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks, and he used stronger language opposing abortion in a previous Senate campaign, including wanting to "change the law" on abortion. 

But he has said during the 2024 campaign and his campaign website says that he does not support a national abortion ban. 

We rate this claim Mostly False.