A federal ban on abortion is splitting the GOP as the party navigates a politically fraught issue ahead of the midterm elections.
Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed a national abortion ban Tuesday that would outlaw the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. The South Carolina Republican argued the bill is in line with most voters’ views on abortion and will help the GOP counter Democratic attacks on the party’s candidates heading into November.
A group of House Republicans is prepared to introduce a similar bill in their chamber, CNN reported.
“There’s a narrative forming in America that the Republican Party and the pro-life movement are on the run,” Graham said at a press conference with the leaders of anti-abortion advocacy groups. “No, no, no, no, no. We’re going nowhere. We welcome the debate. We welcome the vote.”
But the legislation is splitting the party as it struggles to formulate a cohesive and palatable midterm message on abortion following the Supreme Court’s June ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) poured cold water on the prospect of the GOP coalescing around the bill, saying at a leadership press conference Tuesday, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”
Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, Republicans generally advocated letting states decide abortion restrictions instead of pursuing a national ban.
Several Republican senators and senatorial candidates balked at the 15-week proposal on Tuesday. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) insinuated that Graham had gone rogue, telling Politico that it “wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision.” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said she doesn’t “think there’s much of an appetite to go that direction” and that regulation is best left to the states. Joe O’Dea, a centrist Republican running against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado, said he wouldn’t support Graham’s bill.
Any legislation would need 60 votes to bypass the upper chamber’s filibuster, which would be very unlikely, even if Republicans reclaim the majority next year.
In the House, Republicans have introduced legislation that goes much further than a 15-week ban, including a bill that prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks of gestation. The Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, endorsed this and other legislation in its most recent budget blueprint.
Republican strategist John Feehery told the Washington Examiner that Graham’s move could help the party develop a coherent message to address Democratic criticisms that the party is too extreme on abortion.
Democrats have aired a bevy of abortion-focused ads as liberals bet the issue will prove to be a liability for Republican candidates. In response, GOP nominees in swing states have recalibrated their rhetoric or simply downplayed their views on the campaign trail. Blake Masters, the Republican challenger to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in Arizona, overhauled the abortion section of his website and went on the offensive by accusing Kelly of holding extreme positions himself. In Washington, Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley said that while she is anti-abortion, she would not support a national ban. Similarly, GOP Senate candidate Adam Laxalt in Nevada wrote an op-ed saying claims he would support a federal ban were untrue.
“I think being all over the place, there’s been chaos among the Republicans on this issue. I think the Democrats have exploited it by going right to the most restrictive policies and saying, ‘This is what all Republicans believe,'” he said, adding, “Most of the country is where Graham is. I don’t think the country [wants to] get rid of all abortions, and I don’t think the country [wants] abortion on demand. I think there’s somewhere in the middle, and I think this bill is somewhere in the middle.”
But with the prospect of abortion firing up the Democratic base, Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said rallying around any national ban could backfire for Republicans in November.
“It’s political suicide for the GOP,” he told the Washington Examiner. “It’s clear in polling that the Dobbs decision drove many young people and women away towards the Democratic Party in the midterms. The reality is about two-thirds of the American public think that women should have some access to abortion. And I think Graham’s proposal at this point in the midterm elections will drive the nail into the coffin.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted the 15-week abortion ban on Tuesday, previewing Democratic warnings that the bill confirms Republicans want to outlaw abortion nationwide.
“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,” he said during a floor speech, adding, “For MAGA Republicans, this has always been about making abortion illegal everywhere.”
Graham, whose earlier versions of the bill proposed a 20-week ban, said he doesn’t think the legislation will harm his party’s chances in the midterm elections. If enacted, it would put the United States on par with Western European countries such as Belgium, France, and Spain, he said, where the gestational limit is around 14 weeks, and reduce the number of abortions in the U.S. each year by about 55,000.
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“I don’t think this is going to hurt us,” he said. “I think it will more likely hurt [Democrats] when they try to explain to some reasonable person why it’s OK to be more like Iran and less like France on abortion.”
Democrats have largely rejected limits on abortion, prompting some Republicans to paint their positions as extreme. When news leaked that the Supreme Court was ready to overturn Roe, Senate Democrats attempted to codify the Women’s Health Protection Act. The bill failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to clear the chamber.
Graham framed his decision to introduce the bill as being in response to Democrats’ federal abortion measure.
“About 10% of Americans support late-term abortion like the Democratic bill, so our legislation is a counter to their proposal. I hope we get to debate on it and vote on it,” Graham said during Tuesday’s press conference.
