GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham proposes nationwide abortion ban, and Democrats seem delighted

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) released proposed legislation Tuesday to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks, with rare exceptions. He pledged that Congress would vote on his bill if Republicans win control in November.
Anti-abortion activists, quietly seeking to rally Republicans around a single abortion position since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, embraced Graham's plan, "hoping to settle divisions and blunt political damage from an issue with growing potency in the midterm elections," The New York Times reports. Instead, "Graham's Senate allies swiftly distanced themselves from the plan, reflecting a lack of consensus in the party."
Democrats almost uniformly portrayed Graham's bill as "a political gift of self-inflicted pain for Republican candidates now having to answer questions about an abortion ban," not inflation or volatile markets, The Associated Press reports. "So obvious was the apparent ill-timing of the bill's introduction that one White House aide said a Republican lobbyist friend joked that Graham appeared to be working for the Biden administration," Politico reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Dems might need to send gift baskets and champagne to Graham and other Republicans for their selfless act of service today," another Democratic official told Politico.
"A nationwide abortion ban — that's the contrast between the two parties, plain and simple," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not agree with that assessment. "I think every Republican senator running this year in these contested races has an answer as to how they feel about the issue," he said.
Graham's 15-week national ban includes exceptions for rape, incest, and risk to the physical health of the mother, but it would serve as a baseline, allowing states to enact tighter restrictions. And the rape exception for minors "only applies if the doctor gets documentation from law enforcement reporting a rape," lawyer Max Kennedy notes, meaning Graham would "make it the law that 10-year-olds are presumed to have consented to sex."
Anti-abortion advocates argue that by running from the abortion fight, "Republicans are not only ceding what they believe is a winning political issue but could be jeopardizing the push for further restrictions," the Times reports. "There's no doubt that there are a lot of GOP consultants encouraging candidates to not talk about the issue," said Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. "It is the wrong approach."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
The Chagos Islands: Starmer's 'lousy deal'
Talking Point The PM's adherence to 'legalism' has given Mauritius a 'gift from British taxpayers'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges