South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham proposed a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks, a move that is surprising even to some in his own party.
Over the summer the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, essentially kicking the question of legal abortion back to the individual states; you might remember Kansas had its own vote on the issue over the summer. In Graham’s native South Carolina, the cutoff is 21 weeks and 6 days, per abortionfinder.org (the state also has a parental consent law for minors). The overturn of Roe was heralded as a huge win by anti-choice activists and other conservatives who see it as a state issue. Bolstered by the court’s decision, Senator Graham introduced legislation on Tuesday, September 13, that would ban all abortions nationwide after 15 weeks, per The New York Times.
You can read the full text of the legislation here.
As the Times article notes, Democrats currently control the Senate, and there is “no chance” that party leader Senator Chuck Schumer will grant the bill a vote.
Still, Graham’s bill has set off another wave of controversy and disagreement over the role of the government on this issue. “There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference…and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Texas Republican senator John Cornyn told Politico of his party’s reaction. On Twitter, Senator Schumer called the ban ”radical” and a product of “MAGA Republicans.”
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News of the bill also sparked intense reactions online, with some people pointing out that it is misleading to label an abortion at 15 weeks out of 40 (in a full-term pregnancy) “late.”
Learn about abortion-by-pill here. The midterm elections are in 56 days. Confirm you are registered to vote here.
