Hogan in new ad says he’d codify Roe protections

GOP Maryland Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) has launched a new advertisement in which he says he will codify Roe v. Wade, “so every woman can make her own choice.”

“As governor, I promised to uphold Maryland law on abortion, while providing over-the-counter birth control covered by insurance,” Hogan says in the ad, first obtained by Politico. “And I kept my word. Today, with Roe overturned, many have asked what I’ll do in the United States Senate.”

“I’ll support legislation that makes Roe the law of the land, in every state, so every woman can make her own choice,” Hogan continues. “I’m Larry Hogan, and I approve this message, because no one should come between a woman and her doctor.”

Hogan said he supports “restoring Roe as the law of the land” and called himself “pro-choice” in an interview published last Thursday in The New York Times. He argued a day later that his position on abortion “really wasn’t a major transformation,” The Washington Post reported.

“The times have changed,” Hogan said, according to the Post. “Look, things have changed over the last couple of decades and over the last year or two.”

Back in March, Hogan didn’t commit to being in favor of legislation codifying the right to abortion in federal law.

At the time, Hogan said, “We’re going to have to take a look at that as we move forward.”

He continued, “Whether it’s needed or not.”

The former Maryland governor said that his current position on abortion is clarifying and not new, according to WaPo.

“After the overturning of Roe, it really put us in a bad position, where we were having some crazy, unreasonable things taking place,” Hogan said, also noting recent legal battles around reproductive health like those in Alabama and Arizona, according to WaPo.