What presidential candidate Tim Scott really means is that the moment he can get it through Congress, there will be a national abortion ban. Meanwhile, he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth to abortion moderates and extremists.

Appearing on Fox News yesterday, Scott was asked by host Neil Cavuto about Iowa’s recently enacted six-week abortion ban. Although Scott signaled he’d be all for such a ban and more, he would not come out and say he supports the Iowa ban.

SCOTT: Well, Neil, we should celebrate the fact that our states are creating a culture of life.

As president of the United States, I believe my job would be to stop the radical left from having abortion on demand up until the day of birth. I say that because the Democrats in the Senate today have voted for late-term abortions. I would start with a limit of 15 weeks on abortions, federal limit of 15 weeks.

We have to create the culture of life, so that I can sign the most conservative pro-life legislation that can get to my desk. Neil, here`s the truth, though. A 15-week limit today would not pass through this Congress. The 20-week bill that we worked on, the pain-capable bill, never saw the light of day.

As a matter of fact, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats won`t even allow any pro-life legislation. Thirty weeks could not pass this Congress today. That means we have work to do to create the culture.

Clearly, Cavuto is concerned that Republican extremism on abortion will hurt them politically. “Do you worry that six weeks is too much, and that that might hurt Republicans' chances?” he asked.

Rather than admit he’ll go for a complete federal ban, Scott continued to mince words. “I’m 100% pro-life,” he said, with a “100% pro-life voting record.” But to “get it done on the federal level, we're going to have to convince people. And, today, we haven't convinced enough Americans even for a 15-week limit. So, every other conversation outside of getting the number from 39 or 40 weeks down to 15 is inconsequential if we can't win it in the Senate or the House right now.”

It's quite possible Cavuto, like the Murdochs, are looking for a viable alternative to DeSantis and Trump. In any event, Cavuto kept pushing Scott to say how far he'd like to go to outlaw abortion. Cavuto brought up fellow 2024 candidate Mike Pence who wants women to carry even difficult (i.e. dangerous) pregnancies to term.

Scott called it “a question of viability.” He claimed that he and Pence “have very different opinions” but instead of further explaining the difference, Scott deflected by saying he wants to “focus our attention as a nation and as a party on making sure that we have a limit that stops the radical left from pushing abortion on demand for any reason whatsoever.”

Cavuto pressed, asking Scott again about a federal six-week ban on abortion. “Are you saying that that’s too extreme for you?”

Scott still wouldn’t commit to an answer. “The 15-week limit is where we start the conversation until we win the hearts and minds of the American people,” he said. “I’m going to continue to work as president of the United States, where at least a 15-week limit is something we are able to accomplish.”

Not discussed was how abortion bans hurt women. They harm women financially, NBC noted last year, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, because “child poverty would rise [and] public health services would be strained.” ABC News said the “most marginalized” would be the most hurt.

Worse, abortion bans threaten the lives of mothers. Harvard public health professor Ana Langer said in an interview that abortion bans do not result in fewer abortions but “compel women to risk their lives and health by seeking out unsafe abortion care.” 23,000 women die from unsafe abortions each year, according to the World Health Organization, and many thousands more experience serious health complications, she added. She also said, “A recent study estimated that banning abortion in the U.S. would lead to a 21% increase in the number of pregnancy-related deaths overall and a 33% increase among Black women, simply because staying pregnant is more dangerous than having an abortion.”

You can watch Scott demonstrate that he’s more pro-fetus than pro-life below, from the July 13, 2023 Your World.