Graham’s measure, which stands almost no chance of advancing while Democrats hold the majority in Congress, comes just weeks after he and most Republicans had defended the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe by arguing that allowing states to decide on abortion rights would be the most “constitutionally sound” way of handling the issue.
On Tuesday, Graham vowed that, if Republicans took back the House and Senate in the midterm elections, there would be a vote on his 15-week abortion bill.
“Abortion is a contentious issue,” Graham said. “Abortion is not banned in America. It is left up to elected officials in America to define the issue … States have the ability to do [so] at the state level and we have the ability in Washington to speak on this issue if we choose. I have chosen to speak.”
Graham was joined at the news conference by Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, along with other antiabortion leaders. Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) introduced a version of the bill in the House on Tuesday as well. Senior GOP aides in the House have indicated the bill would be a top priority for them if Republicans take back the majority.
The name of the bill — which includes the nonmedical phrase “late-term abortions” — drew sharp criticism from abortion rights activists. Used almost exclusively by antiabortion activists, the phrase is generally understood to refer to abortions between or after 21 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“15 weeks is not ‘late term,’ particularly given the significant challenges to access around the country,” Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications at Emily’s List, wrote in a tweet.
While most people undergo abortions earlier in pregnancy, 15-week and 20-week abortion bans disproportionately affect patients with fetal anomalies, which are often detected at a 20-week anatomy scan, along with those who take longer to realize they are pregnant. These kinds of bans will also affect more people in a post-Roe America as abortion clinics struggle to accommodate a swell of patients from states where abortion is now banned.
The White House criticized the bill, saying it is “wildly out of step with what Americans believe.”
“President Biden and congressional Democrats are committed to restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade in the face of continued radical steps by elected Republicans to put personal health care decisions in the hands of politicians instead of women and their doctors, threatening women’s health and lives,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
Other Democrats swiftly responded to reports of Graham’s efforts with anger, and vowed that the measure would go nowhere. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the bill the “latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans’ intent to criminalize women’s health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care.”
“I will block any efforts in the Senate to advance a nationwide abortion ban — full stop,” tweeted Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is locked in a tough reelection bid. “We don’t need any more male politicians telling women what we can and can’t do with our own bodies.”
“I will never understand the Republican obsession with what goes on in your bedroom or your doctor’s office, but I do know it belongs nowhere near government. Your right to privacy is fundamental,” Rep….
Read More: Graham introduces bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks
