Fact check: What was Ted Budd's involvement in proposed abortion bill?
A political ad by the Women Vote Project says Rep. Ted Budd, North Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate candidate, helped write a proposal for tighter federal abortion regulations, showing that he's way out of step with most residents' opinions on abortion. PolitiFact checks the claim.
Posted — UpdatedA new political ad claims that North Carolina’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate helped write a proposal for tighter federal abortion regulations, showing that he’s way out of step with most residents’ opinions on abortion.
“Sometimes it feels like we can’t agree on anything, except this: 85% of North Carolinians think abortion should be legal for women who need it. Ted Budd isn’t one of them. He helped write legislation to outlaw abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape or incest—a law that could even put doctors in jail. There’s a better choice: Cheri Beasley. She’ll always protect our personal freedoms.”
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling pushed reproductive rights to the forefront of many campaigns this election season. The decision leaves it up to states to to set their own abortion laws.
And while Budd was a co-sponsor and supporter of the antiabortion bill referenced in this ad, we found its characterization of him as bill author to be an overreach.
Bill with ‘no exceptions’
The bill called for a ban of abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which typically happens around six weeks — sometimes before women know they’re pregnant. While the bill carves out an exception if the mother’s life is “endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.”
There’s no formal definition of “original cosponsor” that captures whether or not — or to what extent — a U.S. House member helped write a bill, said Molly Reynolds, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. In other words: just because Budd was an original cosponsor doesn’t mean he helped write it.
While Budd’s office may have reviewed the bill prior to its introduction, PolitiFact North Carolina found no evidence that he “helped write” it.
A Budd campaign spokesperson didn’t dispute that Budd supported the measure, but said the senate candidate didn’t write it. “If Ted had written the legislation, I would say Ted wrote the legislation,” campaign spokesman Jonathan Felts told PolitiFact in an email.
Kelly’s office also refuted the ad’s claim. “U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is the lead author of H.R. 705, The Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021,” Kelly spokesman Matt Knoedler said. “Mr. Budd is among 123 co-sponsors of the bill, but it was Mr. Kelly and our team who wrote the legislation.”
Other citations, recent actions
In an email, Budd campaign spokeswoman Samantha Cotten accused Beasley of being out of touch and that the Budd’s campaign has “always been transparent that Ted is pro-life.”
Our ruling
An ad from Women Vote Project says Budd “helped write legislation to outlaw abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape or incest—a law that could even put doctors in jail.”
While the ad accurately describes the details of the Heartbeat Protection Act, it misstates Budd’s involvement. He sponsored the bill, meaning he supported it. But Budd’s campaign says he didn’t help write it.
The claim is partially accurate but leaves out important details. That’s our definition of Half True.
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