Sen. Graham proposes 15-week abortion ban

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday proposed a bill that would restrict abortions nationwide, a move the White House called “wildly out of step with what Americans believe.”

The South Carolina Republican’s proposed bill would ban abortions after 15 weeks across the country with few exceptions.

“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, to save the life of the mother.’ And that should be where American is at,” Graham said Tuesday at a news conference.

He hopes the bill will receive “bipartisan” support in the Senate. It’s all but guaranteed Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, would not allow the bill to reach the chamber’s floor for debate. It’s even less likely President Joe Biden would sign such a bill into law.

“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,” the White House’s statement read in part.

In Graham’s home of South Carolina, senators there rejected a ban last week on almost all abortions during a special session in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 24 that overturned Roe v. Wade. 

Following the court’s decision, trigger laws have taken effect in several Republican-controlled states across the country. The medical procedure is fully banned in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Several more states have trigger laws tied up in court.

Graham said he sees the proposal “as eminently reasonable,” and hopes the “American people” view it as such.

As of June, 61% of U.S. adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Pew Research Center.