JUST IN: White House Slams Lindsey Graham’s ‘Wildly Out of Step’ National Abortion Ban Proposal
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The White House accused Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) of being “wildly out of step” with Americans over a proposed nationwide abortion ban from the Republican lawmaker.
Graham introduced legislation this week that would ban abortion across the nation after 15 weeks. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion restrictions have been left up to individual states.
Legislative Text of Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act.
BILL TEXT:https://t.co/7NA7xDxZOk
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 13, 2022
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement Tuesday blasting the proposal.
“Today, Senator Graham introduced a national ban on abortion which would strip away women’s rights in all 50 states. This bill is wildly out of step with what Americans believe,” she wrote.
Republicans, she added, are fighting to “take us back” and strip away the rights of millions of women, while President Joe Biden remains “committed to restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade.”
“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,” she wrote.
Biden previously called on Congress to codify abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision. Graham’s proposal would ban doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it includes exceptions for rape or incest or to save the mother’s life.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Graham called the legislation “eminently reasonable.”
“Abortion is not banned in America. It’s left up to the elected officials in America to define the issue. States have the ability to do it at the state level, and we have the ability in Washington to speak on this issue if we choose,” the senator said. “I have chosen to speak. I have chosen to craft legislation that I think is eminently reasonable in the eyes of the world and I hope the American people.”
The senator promised that if Republicans take the House and Senate in the midterm elections there will be a vote on the legislation.
