Lindsey Graham’s Abortion Bill Divides Senate Republicans: ‘I’m Not Sure What He’s Thinking Here’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) apparently did not rally the Republican Party with his latest anti-abortion proposal, a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks.
The proposal immediately raised eyebrows and led to pundits and observers calling out Graham over past comments in which he said issues like abortion rights should be left to the states.
Graham’s proposal comes just months after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade and just two months ahead of the November midterms.
“We will introduce legislation…to get America in a position at the federal level I think is fairly consistent with the rest of the world,” Graham said on Tuesday.
“I look forward to the debate, I look forward to the vote. If we take back the House and Senate, I can assure you we’ll have a vote on our bill. If the Democrats are in charge, I don’t know if we’ll ever have a vote on our bill,” Graham concluded, hyping the upcoming vote’s importance on the issue.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) poured some cold water on Graham’s proposal, however, by not committing to the bill being scheduled for a vote should the GOP retake the U.S. Senate.
When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if he would schedule such a bill for a vote next Congress as majority leader, McConnell responded, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”
McConnell is asked about Lindsey Graham’s abortion ban pic.twitter.com/f2yQ3cX42u
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2022
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) also noted Graham had stepped outside the GOP mainstream, “That wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision.”
“There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Cornyn said of the GOP conference.
“I would keep an open mind on this but my preference would be for those decisions to be made on a state-by-state basis,” he concluded.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) offered a similar take, according to Politico. “I don’t think there’s an appetite for a national platform here. My state, today, is working on this. I’m not sure what he’s thinking here. But I don’t think there will be a rallying around that concept,” she said concluding, “I don’t think there’s much of an appetite to go that direction.”
In Georiga, GOP nominee for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker said he would support the bill. “I believe the issue should be decided at the state level, but I would support this policy,” Walker said. Politico also reported GOP nominee for Senate in Colorado, Joe O’Dea, rejected the proposal, “I don’t support Senator Graham’s bill. A Republican ban is as reckless and tone deaf as is Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s hostility to compromise.”
