Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican 2024 presidential candidate, is marking the first anniversary of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade by running digital ads that take aim at Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for saying abortion bans would be “very damaging” for the economy.
The Washington Times received a first glimpse at the ads, which criticize Ms. Yellen for saying in Senate testimony that restrictions on abortion “would set women back decades.”
“I know I didn’t hear what I just heard, that the way up is to eliminate the life of your child,” Mr. Scott says in the one-minute ad titled “Gospel Truth.” “That’s unconscionable. As a Black man born to a woman living at the poverty line, I’m so thankful my mama chose life.”
He said, “The bedrock of my family is one built on a Judeo-Christian foundation. That gospel truth is undeniable. It is the foundation of this nation. I’m an optimist and I believe that this country has a lot of life left to live.”
The Scott campaign plans to run the digital ads for at least at week. It is part of a broader, multimillion-dollar ad buy. Separately, the campaign is running TV ads in the key early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are marking one year since the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned the broad national right to abortion in its “Dobbs” decision, opening the door to state-based restrictions.
The Associated Press estimates that more than 25 million women ages 15 to 44 — or about 2 in 5 nationally — live in states that have more restrictions on abortion than before Dobbs. More than 5.5 million live in states with new restrictions that were placed on hold pending court challenges.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris scheduled a political event Friday to decry state restrictions and promote a new executive order to expand access to contraception.
Democrats were outraged by the Dobbs decision but hope to use it to their political advantage in 2024, saying it alienated young and female voters who could be decisive in the next election.
Yet contenders for the GOP presidential nomination are leaning into their pro-life bona fides.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, speaking to the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference on Friday, called on his rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination to pledge their support for a minimum 15-week federal ban on abortion. He said the overturning of Roe v. Wade is just the beginning of the fight for life.
Likewise, Mr. Scott said the Dobbs decision was just the first step.
“Thank God Almighty for the Dobbs’ decision,” Mr. Scott told the conference. “We are creating a culture of life in America, and that’s a really good thing.”
Mr. Scott also penned an op-ed for the Des Moines Register that said as president, he would sign “most pro-life legislation the House and Senate can put on my desk.”
The Washington Times reached out to the Treasury Department for comment on the ad but did not hear back.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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