Kemp joins in defense of 6-week abortion ban amid Trump blowback

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) defended a six-week abortion ban after former President Trump criticized a similar ban Sunday.

“There’s nothing ‘terrible’ about standing up for life.” Kemp posted on X Tuesday. “In addition to passing the heartbeat bill, Georgia has proudly protected and valued life through implementing adoption and foster care reforms, and combatting human trafficking —and will continue to do so as long as I’m governor.”

Abortion is currently banned in Georgia after about six weeks into pregnancy. The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the ban last November, putting a lower court ruling on hold where a judge called the ban “unconstitutional.”

Trump took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for signing a six-week abortion ban, calling the move “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake” during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Trump added that he would find a solution with which “both sides will be happy.”

Trump’s remarks faced some blowback and could pose risks for the GOP presidential front-runner in Iowa, where 70 percent of Trump’s supporters say they were in favor of a state law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released last month.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) also defended a law she signed that bans most abortions after six weeks of presidency, following Trump’s comments.

“It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life,” Reynolds said Tuesday in a post on X. “I’m proud of the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed and I signed in 2018 and again earlier this year.”

She has also not committed to endorsing any candidate in the 2024 GOP primary race yet.

“I’m remaining neutral, but I don’t just want to rule it out down the road. I think it’s really important right now to encourage candidates to come to Iowa,” Reynolds told Shannon Bream during an interview on Fox News Sunday.