Sen. Graham Proposes Nationwide 15-Week Abortion Ban

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • On Tues., US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unveiled a bill that would criminalize abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, in what is the first national ban on the procedure to be introduced since SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade.1
  • Graham’s bill includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger. While doctors who violate the ban would face up to five years in prison, women wouldn't be prosecuted.2
  • Graham said the bill would put the US “in line with the rest of the world,” and expressed his opinion that “a vast majority of Americans do not support abortion on demand up to delivery.'2
  • Democrats voiced their opposition to the bill, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the bill “is wildly out of step with what Americans believe.”3
  • At the national level, the bill has little chance in the Democrat-controlled Congress. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, however, 15 states have banned or partially banned abortion, while several state bans are being held up by the courts.4
  • Meanwhile, other states have dismissed restrictions: Kansas voters rejected a referendum that would have cleared the way for a ban, and South Carolina Republicans recently failed to pass a near-total ban during a special session of their legislature.4

Sources: 1Independent, 2FOX News, 3Axios and 4Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. Graham is calling his bill the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act, which — aside from being a jawbreaking name — is widely inaccurate on two fronts: Virtually all medical associations have concluded that fetuses don't feel pain until 24 weeks, and 'late-term' is a political phrase used to manipulate, not a scientific one. Americans need only look at what Republican states have done recently to see Graham's true motives.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Recent polls have indicated that most Americans support common-sense restrictions on abortions, and Graham’s bill is in step with this. Something has to be done to stop radical bills like the Democrats’ Women’s Health Protection Act, which would legalize the procedure nationwide and handcuff states from exercising their constitutional right to limit abortion.