TONE DEAF: Sen. Lindsey Graham introduces nationwide abortion ban ahead of midterms
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has just proposed a nationwide ban on abortion, just weeks after declaring that the matter was best left to the states to decide. On Tuesday, the South Carolina lawmaker introduced a bill that would ban the procedure after only 15 weeks. Speaking at a press conference, Graham stated:
“I think we should have a law at the federal level that would say, after 15 weeks, no abortion on demand except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother,” Graham said at a news conference. “And that should be where America is at.”
This isn’t the first time Graham has initiated legislation to ban the constitutional right to abortion. In 2013, after the House of Representatives unconstitutionally passed a near-total nationwide ban after 20 weeks – Sen. Graham introduced a similar version in the Senate. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, it was a “similarly extreme measure with only narrow exceptions to save a pregnant woman’s life and in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to legal authorities.”
“Bans on abortion at 20 weeks are as dangerous as they are unconstitutional.”
While the proposed bill shouldn’t come as a shock for anyone familiar with the lifelong Republican and staunch pro-lifer, taking another bite at the abortion ban apple is contradictory to Graham’s assertion that if Roe was overturned, it would revert to “the people” to decide, The Hill reported.
“If it does get repealed, which I hope it will, the issue will go back to the states,” Graham said. “The abortion debate will not go away in the country, it will be decided by the people, not a handful of judges.
It appears the GOP senator would rather it be decided by a handful of legislators.
The backlash from women on both sides of the aisle after the Supreme Court’s decision overturning a woman’s constitutionally protected right to privacy – and abortion – has been swift and forceful, leaving the GOP scrambling. With other Republicans scrubbing their websites of anti-abortion rhetoric, Graham’s timing may dim the gaslight Republicans are trying to shine on the American public as they try to make us forget who we know they are.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
