Lindsey Graham

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. Sen. Lindsey Graham waits to speak during a news conference to announce a new bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.

[New Hampshire statewide](https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/new-hampshire/) and [New Hampshire congressional districts](https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/new-hampshire/house/) … [Roll Call’s Chris Cioffi has a nice story up](https://rollcall.com/2022/09/13/one-night-a-year-softball-game-gets-personal-for-sen-amy-klobuchar/) on Sen. [More info on the game](https://www.congwomensoftball.org/) [“Ken Starr, Independent Counsel in Clinton Investigation, Dies at 76,”](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/us/politics/ken-starr-dead.html) by NYT’s Peter Baker: “His wife, Alice Starr, said he had spent the last 17 weeks at Baylor St. [Olivia Beavers sits down](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/house-gop-00056568) with Rep. [Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu report](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/jan-6-panel-testimony-transcripts-justice-department-00056459). BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.) told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday, following a roughly four-hour-long meeting of the Jan. But Peltola’s history-making credentials (she’s the first Alaska Native to represent the state in Congress and first woman to represent the state in the House) made her arrival all the more notable. [“crazy ideas”](https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/ac38ec73-0769-4cd2-896d-f741f9ec3519) — a message that Democrats are now certain to amplify in the two months ahead. “Today offers proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright and the promise of America is real,” Biden said. (While some forecasters have declared Bolduc the nominee, the AP has yet to call the race.) LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) tossed all that out the window Tuesday, dropping a bill that would implement a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy while allowing states to pass more restrictive laws.

While he provides an exception in cases where the pregnancy would kill the woman, he provides no other exceptions to protect the health of women. Given the ...

“The President and Vice President are fighting for progress, while Republicans are fighting to take us back.” The message was clear: Vote for Democrats or allow 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 Post reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/13/abortion-graham-republicans-nationwide-ban/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5): “The timing of Graham’s announcement is curious — two months before the midterm elections, after abortion has already shown to be a galvanizing issue for some Democratic voters.” In introducing the bill, Graham jerked attention away from the inflation numbers released on Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to minimize the damage. Whatever the reason, he has certainly lent a hand to Democrats who’ve been focusing on slippery Republicans trying to deny ownership of their past radical views. Graham (S.C.) has underscored the determination of Republicans to enact a regime of forced birth throughout the United States. After all, The Post reports, “Republicans have been forced to reckon with a growing trove of data suggesting that abortion could be a decisive issue in the midterms, motivating Democratic and independent voters far more than was widely expected.”

Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday unveiled a bill to create a federal ban on abortions at 15 weeks, sending shockwaves through both parties. | TAG24.

Polls have consistently shown that a majority of voters oppose the end of federal abortion protections. On Tuesday, many pointed to Graham's new legislation as a prime example of exactly that. "Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions of women," she said. "I have chosen to speak." "America’s got to make a decision. [proposed legislation ](https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3065785d-86b8-4d36-986a-72aa1c8f100c/protecting-pain-capable-unborn-children-from-late-term-abortions-act-.pdf)would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with rare exceptions.

Graham's own Republican Party leaders did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with ...

And I think this is an attempt to at least put something out there that reflects the views of a lot of Republicans who are in favor of some restrictions.” “There are Republicans who are in favor of restrictions. “So I leave it up to our candidates who are quite capable of handling this issue to determine for them what their response is.” “I think every Republican senator running this year in these contested races has an answer as to how they feel about the issue,” McConnell said. That provision is notable because many Republicans have argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling leaves the abortion issue for the states to decide. Democrats torched it as an alarming signal of where “MAGA” Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. Bennet pledged “to defend a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, no matter what ZIP code she lives in. His opponent in Colorado, Republican Joe O’Dea, who supports putting abortion access that had been guaranteed under Roe v. We welcome the vote in the United States Senate as to what America should look like in 2022.” But the legislation from the Republicans makes it clear states are only allowed to decide the issue if their abortion bans are more stringent. on par with many countries in Europe and around the world. Graham said it would put the U.S.

Instead of uniting his allies and dividing his foes, Lindsey Graham has united his foes and divided his allies with a proposed abortion ban.

Shelley Moore Capito [added](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/grahams-abortion-ban-senate-gop-00056423), in reference to Graham, “I’m not sure what he’s thinking here.” Lindsey Graham](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/watch/republican-u-s-sen-lindsey-graham-calls-for-nationwide-abortion-ban-148377157943) unveiled a proposed [national abortion ban](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/earlier-vows-lindsey-graham-eyes-national-abortion-ban-rcna47523) yesterday, the South Carolina Republican did the opposite, uniting his opponents and dividing his allies. NBC News [reported](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-graham-introduces-bill-ban-abortion-nationwide-15-weeks-rcna47530): And let me add this: Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain why they want nationwide abortion bans when they said they’d leave it up to the states.” Lindsey Graham’s bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks nationwide. It took only hours Tuesday for fellow Republicans to trash Sen.

Graham's nationwide abortion ban proposal shocked many in Washington, including some Republicans who say the issue should be addressed by states, not the ...

Graham’s nationwide abortion ban proposal shocked many in Washington, including some Republicans who say the issue should be addressed by states, not the federal government. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday, “The nationwide abortion ban proposal put forth today is the latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans intent to criminalize women’s health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care.” 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.

If Republicans take control of Congress, there will be a vote on a national abortion ban.

People are hurting right now and worried about the economy,” said Holly Robichaud, a Republican consultant who advised Chris Doughty, a more moderate Republican who lost the gubernatorial primary to Diehl. For example, in an interview that touched on abortion rights, Diehl said that, “What’s important is people in this state have spoken through their legislators. Vance, wrote, ”The future of abortion rights will be decided in November’s election.” He added: “This is one of the closest Senate races in the country and my far-right opponent, J.D. We need governors who will stand up for reproductive freedom.” The email also notes that as a state lawmaker, Diehl cosponsored legislation to ban abortion. And of voters surveyed, 41 percent said the economy is the most important issue. After all, based on [recent polling](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/08/1121535686/poll-abortion-inflation-midterm-elections), Republicans have an advantage when the issue is the economy, while Democrats and many independent voters are motivated by abortion rights. That split is causing some Republicans [to back away from pre-election talk about more restrictions](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/09/republican-abortion-bans/). “I think they’re trying to have it both ways — pander to their base, while reassuring other people this is a state’s rights issue,” Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of the abortion rights group Reproductive Equity Now, told me. [introduced a bill on Tuesday to ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/us/politics/lindsey-graham-abortion.html), he seemed a little off message. In an email request for campaign contributions — which arrived Wednesday morning with the subject line “pissed off right now” — US Representative Tim Ryan, who is running for a Senate seat in Ohio against Republican J.D. “If we take back the House and the Senate, I can assure you we’ll have a vote on our bill,” [promised](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFvp7YmRHd4) the senator from South Carolina. Graham’s words, she added, “were grease on the fire.”

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham unveiled a bill that would impose a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy with a few very narrow ...

Fewer than [5 percent](https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-bulletin/articles/2013/06/second-trimester-abortion) of abortions occur at this stage, so the bill would have no impact on a majority of patients. [the motivation behind this proposal](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/lindsey-graham-abortion-ban-2022-midterm-2024-election.html): Americans are, on average, [more favorable](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/06/americas-abortion-quandary/) to restrictions in the second trimester, so a 15-week ban sounds more politically feasible—and maybe even popular. As one provider [wondered](https://www.macombdaily.com/2019/05/25/new-abortion-laws-are-especially-cruel-to-my-patients-with-high-risk-pregnancies/): “Will I have to wait until she gets a fever, so I can check off that box, that she’s in danger? [heartbeat bill](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/05/texas-abortion-ban-lawsuit-liability.html)” that forced her to New Mexico for crucial health care. [rejects](https://lozierinstitute.org/the-term-incompatible-with-life-is-incompatible-with-the-best-care/) the very concept of an anomaly that’s “incompatible with life,” arguing that patients should be forced to give birth if there’s a possibility that the child might live for minutes or hours. D&E is [far safer than induced labor](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21422848/#:~:text=When%20controlled%20for%20confounding%2C%20the,trimester%20abortion%20for%20fetal%20indications.), so Graham’s bill ensures that some rape victims will experience totally unnecessary and possibly life-threatening medical complications. [waited](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/23/texas-abortion-law-doctors-delay-care/) until patients are actively dying before providing abortions. [sought to cast](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/14/republican-gop-abortion-lindsey-graham) a 15-week limit as the moderate alternative to an absolute prohibition, it actually federalizes some of the most extreme and unpopular aspects of state-level bans. If Graham’s bill becomes law, patients in her situation cannot flee the state—they will have to flee the country. [a devastating story](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/09/health/abortion-restrictions-texas/index.html) that illustrates the inhumane ramifications of the Graham approach. At most, if carried to term, these children will live just for hours or days [in immense pain](https://www.statnews.com/2019/01/07/devastating-diagnosis-before-birth-trisomy-18/). [bill](https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3065785d-86b8-4d36-986a-72aa1c8f100c/protecting-pain-capable-unborn-children-from-late-term-abortions-act-.pdf) that would impose a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy with a few very narrow exceptions.