¶ Overview
Crane praised a six week abortion ban in Texas and said he opposed abortions, even in the case of rape or incest. Crane called Roe. V. Wade a “mistake” and celebrated when it was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Crane voted several times to restrict reproductive freedom. Crane voted to restrict service members’ ability to travel to access reproductive care and voted to prohibit Department of Veterans’ Affairs funds from being used for abortion services. He also voted to restrict access to mifepristone.
¶ Crane Supported A Six-Week Abortion Ban And Voted To Restrict Reproductive Rights
¶ Crane Supported A Six-Week Abortion Ban And Voted To Restrict Access To Reproductive Care
¶ 2021: Crane Celebrated The Six-Week Abortion Ban Passed In Texas
Crane Said The Supreme Court’s Decision Not To Strike Down Texas’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Was “A Rare Piece Of Good News In An Upside Down World.” According to a post on Eli Crane’s Twitter account,
[Twitter, Eli Crane, 9/2/21]
- 2021: Texas Instituted A Six-Week Abortion Ban. According to the Texas Tribune, "Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Wednesday a measure that would prohibit in Texas abortions as early as six weeks — before some women know they are pregnant — and open the door for almost any private citizen to sue abortion providers and others. The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the battle over abortion restrictions as first-of-its-kind legal provisions — intended to make the law harder to block — are poised to be tested in the courts." [Texas Tribune, 5/18/21]
- Dr. Dana R. Gossett, The Vice Chair Of Obstetrics And Gynecology At The University Of California, San Francisco, Said “Unless A Woman Is Actively Trying To Get Pregnant, She Is Unlikely To Know That She Is Pregnant At Six Weeks.” According to the New York Times, "While there isn’t clear data as to when women typically find out that they are pregnant, Dr. Dana R. Gossett, the vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, said that in her practice she often sees women who don’t realize they are pregnant until after the six-week mark. ‘Typically, clinical symptoms like fatigue and nausea don’t start until after six weeks,’ Dr. Gossett said, though there are some women who are more sensitive to early pregnancy symptoms. What’s more, women with irregular menstrual cycles might find it ‘especially challenging’ to discover that they’re pregnant right away, Dr. Gossett said. ‘What are they supposed to do? Check pregnancy tests every four or five weeks?’ Dr. Sarah Horvath, a family planning fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, agreed. ‘Unless a woman is actively trying to get pregnant, she is unlikely to know that she is pregnant at six weeks,’ she said." [New York Times, 5/18/19]
- HEADLINE: “Six-Week Abortion Bans: More Than A Third Of Women Don’t Know They Are Pregnant By 6 Weeks” [Endocrinology Advisor, 11/17/25]
¶ 2022: Crane Indicated He Opposed Abortion, Even In Cases Of Rape And Incest
2022: Crane Said He Supported Prohibiting Abortion “Except When It Is Necessary To Prevent The Death Of The Mother.” According to an Arizona Voter Guide Survey,
[AZ Voter Guide Survey, Eli Crane, Archived 7/26/22, via archive.org]
¶ Crane Called Roe V. Wade A “Mistake” And Celebrated When It Was Overturned
June 2022: Crane Called Roe V. Wade A “Mistake” And Claimed The “Constitution Never Authorizes The Right To Terminate Human Life.” According to a statement posted on Eli Crane’s campaign website, “Roe V. Wade was a mistake that has cost millions of innocent lives, and our constitution never authorizes the right to terminate human life. The decision would also further legitimize the states powers not listed in the constitution as federal authority. I strongly believe that every life is essential. We must continue to do everything in our power to protect the most vulnerable.” [Press Release, Eli Crane for Congress, 6/24/22]
¶ Crane Voted To Limit Access To Mifepristone
¶ September 2023: Crane Voted To Restrict Access To Mifepristone
2023: Crane Voted For The FY 2024 Agriculture Appropriations. In September 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Crane voted for “passage of the bill that would provide roughly $22 billion in discretionary funding in fiscal 2024 for the Agriculture Department and related agencies. The bill would provide $6.2 billion to the Food and Drug Administration, including $3 billion in discretionary budget authority and $3.2 billion in user fees; $3.4 billion for Agriculture Department rural development activities; $1.5 billion for the Agricultural Research Service; and $1 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service. It would provide $122 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, $32 billion for child nutrition programs, and $6 billion for the Women, Infants, and Children program.” The vote was on passage. The House rejected the bill by a vote of 197 to 237. [House Vote 507, 9/28/23; Congressional Quarterly, 9/28/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4368]
- The Bill Repealed The FDA’s Rule Allowing The Dispense Of Abortion Drugs Without In-Person Consultation. According to Congressional Quarterly, the bill “nullif[ied] the FDA’s January 2023 rule allowing medical providers to dispense the abortion drug mifepristone without an in-person consultation.” [Congressional Quarterly, 9/28/23]
¶ March 2024: Crane Signed An Amicus Brief To The Supreme Court Calling On It To Limit Access To Mifepristone
March 2024: Crane Signed An Amicus Brief To The Supreme Court Opposing Access To Mifepristone And Calling On The Supreme Court To Limit Access. According to the Arizona Mirror, “A total of 145 members of Congress from 36 states, who opposed access to mifepristone remaining as it is today, submitted their own 39-page brief in the case, calling on the Supreme Court to limit access. ‘Since 2016, the FDA has only required adverse events reporting for deaths resulting from chemical abortion drugs; reporting is otherwise voluntary,’ the members of Congress wrote, making the argument that reports are not required for injuries or impairment. ‘This action was not only arbitrary and capricious, but it also raised safety concerns for women seeking chemical abortion drugs.’ The FDA’s decisions in 2016 and 2021 to change prescribing guidelines for mifepristone, they wrote, ‘exceeded its congressionally authorized power.’ Four Arizona Republicans signed on to the amicus brief: Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko.” [Arizona Mirror, 3/1/24]
¶ Crane Voted To Restrict Service Members Ability To Travel To Access Reproductive Care
2023: Crane Effectively Voted To Repeal A 2022 Memorandum Regarding Traveling For Reproductive Care. In September 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Crane voted against the “motion to instruct conferees on the part of the House to disagree to section 716, which would repeal an October 2022 Defense Department memorandum concerning traveling for reproductive health care.” The vote was on a motion to instruct conferees. The House rejected the motion by a vote of 205 to 214. [House Vote 400, 9/20/23; Congressional Quarterly, 9/20/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 2670]
- The 2022 Memorandum Ensured Service Members And Their Families Access To Reproductive Care. According to the Congressional Research Service, “On October 20, 2022, the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum directing actions to ensure that servicemembers and their families ‘can access reproductive health care and [DOD] health care providers can operate effectively.’ The memo directed the department to establish travel and transportation allowances for servicemembers and their dependents to obtain noncovered reproductive health care that is unavailable in the ‘local area of a Service member’s permanent duty station,’ and establish a reimbursement program to assist a DOD health care provider with obtaining a professional license in another state ‘in order to support the performance of their official duties.’ Section 716 would repeal the October 20, 2022, DOD memorandum and prohibit DOD from using funds to implement the memorandum or a potential successor memorandum. The provision would also amend 10 U.S.C. §1093 to prohibit the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing fees or expenses for DOD health care providers to obtain a health care license in a state for the purpose of providing abortion services.” [Congressional Research Service, 9/6/23]
2024: Crane Voted To Prohibit The Defense Department From Paying Or Reimbursing Abortion-Related Costs. In June 2024, Crane voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “amendment no. 55 that would prohibit the Defense Department from paying for or reimbursing certain expenses relating to abortion services.” The vote was on the amendment. The underlying legislation was the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The House adopted the amendment by a vote of 214 to 207. [House Vote 263, 6/13/24; Congressional Quarterly, 6/13/24; Congressional Actions, H.Amdt.989; Congressional Actions, H.R. 8070]
- The Amendment Prohibited Reimbursements For Individuals That Had To Travel For Abortions. According to Congressional Quarterly, “The bill is peppered with familiar GOP-favored provisions that would bar spending on […] subsidizing troops' travel to obtain abortions.” [Congressional Quarterly, 6/14/24]
- The Amendment Followed A House-Passed Amendment To The FY 2024 NDAA That Overturned A Defense Memorandum Permitting Reimbursements For Travel To Receive Reproductive Care. According to Congressional Quarterly, “The House waded through controversial amendments to the fiscal 2024 defense authorization on Thursday, adopting multiple provisions that could threaten the bill’s final passage. […] The House earlier Thursday adopted an amendment from Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, to rescind a Defense Department policy that reimburses servicemembers who must travel to obtain reproductive health care. Democrats have promised to vote en masse against the bill if that provision is included.” [Congressional Quarterly, 7/14/23]
¶ Crane Voted Against Allowing Veterans’ Affairs Funds To Be Used For Abortion Services Or Counseling
2023: Crane Voted To Prohibit The Use Of VA Funding To Provide Abortions Or Allow Abortion Counseling. In July 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Crane voted for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, which would “also prohibit the use of the bill's funds to provide abortions, to implement a September 2022 VA rule that allows abortion counseling and establishes exceptions for the prohibition on abortions in the medical benefits package for veterans and civilian beneficiaries, to provide surgical procedures or hormone therapies for gender-affirming care, and to fly or display a flag over a VA facility or national cemetery that is not the U.S. flag, military-related or another government jurisdiction” The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 219 to 211, thus the bill was sent to the Senate. [House Vote 380, 7/27/23; Congressional Quarterly, 7/27/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4366]
- The Bill Would Prevent VA Medical Centers From Performing Abortions. According to The Hill, “But the administration did not hold back its criticism of policies in the bill it said would prevent VA medical centers from being able to perform abortions or ‘provide hormone therapies for the purpose of gender-affirming care.’” [The Hill, 7/27/23]