Alabama Democrat Doug Jones dismissed what he called a “stupid question” about whether he’ll vote against a Senate bill next week to ban abortions after five months.
A member of the National Republican Senatorial Committee circulated video Wednesday of an unidentified man recording Jones passing by. When the man behind the camera asked Jones about the vote, he laughed and said, “Should abortion be banned after five months? As I said, what a stupid question.”
Though the man did not name a bill specifically, Lindsey Graham’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is due for a Senate vote next week. The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks, at which point the fetus is believed to be able to feel pain, according to Stanford pediatrics professor Kanwaljeet Anand.
Jones told the man he would vote on the bill next week “just like I did the last one.” The senator in 2018 voted against a 20-week abortion ban supported by President Trump. Graham reintroduced the bill in January. Since then, it has garnered support from 47 senators.
Jones also voted against a bill in January that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions or for health coverage that includes abortions. Likewise, he called his own state’s strict abortion ban passed in May 2019 “shameful” and “callous.” The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, bans all abortions with the exception of cases in which the mother’s health is in danger. It also makes performing the procedure a felony.
Jones, up for reelection in November, is a top target for Senate Republicans.
