Lindsey Graham Comes Out Hard Against Trump On Abortion: ‘Will Age About as Well as the Dred Scott Decision’

LEFT: Donald Trump (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) RIGHT: Lindsey Graham (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his strong disagreement with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump over his opposition to a national abortion ban on Monday, predicting that Trump’s position would “age about as well as the Dred Scott decision.”

In a statement on Truth Social Monday, Trump came out against any kind of nationally-enforced abortion restrictions, declaring that what states “decide must be the law of the land, and in this case, the law of the state.”

“Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be,” he added. “At the end of the day, it’s all about will of the people. That’s where we are right now and that’s what we want — the will of the people.”

But in a statement of his own, Graham, a longtime backer of the former president who has sponsored a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks gestation, argued against Trump’s position.

“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child — not geography,” began Graham.

He continued:

The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision. The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain.

I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

However, until we achieve this goal, the least we can do is to provide anesthesia to an unborn child facing an abortion at fifteen weeks because they can feel pain. Therefore, I will be introducing new legislation requiring abortion providers to administer anesthesia to an unborn child at fifteen weeks because they are capable of feeling pain. It is common medical practice to administer anesthesia to operate on an unborn child at fifteen weeks to save their life.

“Forty-seven of fifty European nations have national limits on abortion between twelve and fifteen weeks,” concluded Graham. “This is the civilized world’s position.”