MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said the overturning of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade is the most “devastating” event for the Republican Party since Watergate.
Republicans witnessed major losses in Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio in the Tuesday elections in part due to abortion. Voters in Ohio voted to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, the Democrats regained a full majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear won reelection against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Scarborough said the overturn of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade is the biggest political downturn for Republicans since Watergate. Roe v. Wade prohibited states from banning abortions before the point of fetal viability until the Supreme Court overturned the decision in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“The overturning of Roe, it’s really gotta be, I think the most devastating single event for the Republican Party since, gosh, since Watergate,” Scarborough said on “Morning Joe” Wednesday.
Watergate was the major scandal in the early 1970s in which former President Richard Nixon’s administration attempted to cover up the break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters to influence the presidential election, according to the FBI.
Scarborough said an immigrant friend called him Tuesday night to say that if Republicans are opposed to abortion, they simply should not get one. The MSNBC host agreed with his friend and said most Americans agree with that mindset. (RELATED: Scarborough Goes After Biden For Nearly Two Straight Minutes In Testy Rant)
Voters in Ohio chose to enshrine an amendment allowing for abortion in a 57.7% to 42.3% vote. The vote overruled the current six-week ban in place which went back into effect following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The overturning of Roe returned decisions regarding abortion to the state level.
“Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception; fertility treatment; continuing one’s own pregnancy; miscarriage care; and abortion,” the amendment reads.
The amendment allows for abortion to be restricted or prohibited after “fetal viability,” which typically begins around 20-25 weeks of gestation, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.