Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the new Texas abortion law was “extreme with this problem of bounties.”
Anchor Chuck Todd said, “Governor Hogan, do you believe the abortion issue, if it’s going to be state by state, you seem to basically say you know your electorate is perhaps pro-choice. You may be pro-life, and you’ve taken a hands-off approach. Do you believe it should be the public sentiment that should dictate where we go on abortion laws?”
Hogan said, “I happen to be personally opposed to abortion, and I believe states do have rights to pass some reasonable restrictions. But certainly, in this case, this bill in Texas seems to be a little bit extreme with this problem of bounties for people that turn in somebody that drove somebody to an abortion clinic. I think the Supreme Court will take this up. They haven’t made the final determination on it. Legislatures have rights to pass bills. Governors have the right to sign them or not. The court gets to make the ultimate decision.”
Todd said, “I understand. If it’s by the states, should it reflect the will of the people or the will of the elected officials?”
Hogan said, “Well, the way our system works is we elect officials, and they make decisions for us. The people get to decide whether they want to keep them in office or not. In our state, the voters actually made this determination long before I became governor. My legislature is 70%, more than 70% democratic. I chose not to overturn the will of the legislature or the voters.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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