Braun: Returning power to states would tone down ‘contention’ on abortion, other issues

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC and AP) - An Indiana senator believes a US Supreme Court ruling allowing individual states to largely manage matters like abortion rights would be a key step toward eliminating “a lot of the contention” seen in the country.

Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican, appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” via video link from his hometown of Jasper, Ind., on Sunday.

He discussed his opposition to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates -- suggesting businesses were better suited to determine what steps to take -- and explained why he hopes the High Court will soon issue a ruling that could weaken the decades-old Roe v. Wade decision.

“When it comes to things like abortion, I think it’s clear it’s time to turn it back to the States,” Braun told moderator Chuck Todd. “Let the diversity of this country show forth. It eliminates a lot of the contention to where we become the Hatfields and McCoys on many of these issues.

“Why try to do it at the national level? We generally don’t do things well here (in federal government), anyway.”

WATCH: Braun appears on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” discusses abortion

The current case before the court, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, concerns a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Both sides seem to be operating on the assumption that a court reshaped by former President Donald Trump will either overturn or seriously weaken Roe.

“We have a storm to weather,” said Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. “We have to weather the storm so that in the future — five, 10, 15 years from now — we’re talking about how we managed to repeal all these abortion bans.”

The institute estimates that as many as 26 states would institute some sort of abortion-access restrictions within a year, if permitted by the court. At least 12 states have “trigger bans” on the books, with restrictions that would kick in automatically if the justices overturn or weaken federal protections on abortion access.

It is widely expected that Indiana, with a conservative state legislature and Republican governor, would tighten restrictions on abortion should the Supreme Court ruling clear the way for such moves.

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