距离中期选举不到两个月，参议员林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)周二提出了一项法案，该法案将在全国范围内禁止怀孕15周后的大多数堕胎。
这项措施是自最高法院6月份推翻Roe v. Wade以来，共和党首次在全国范围内禁止堕胎，包括强奸、乱伦或母亲生命处于危险中的情况，但在格雷厄姆引用医学研究声称胎儿神经发育足以感受疼痛后，将限制堕胎。
格雷厄姆周二表示:“我们的立法禁止怀孕15周后堕胎，这将使美国的堕胎政策与法国、德国、比利时、丹麦、西班牙和其他欧洲国家的堕胎政策保持一致。”
他和各种反堕胎和妇女组织的领导人一再表示，如果没有联邦堕胎禁令，美国就会像朝鲜、中国、伊朗和叙利亚一样，他认为这些国家允许“按需堕胎”。
但是目前还不清楚格雷厄姆是否得到了他的共和党同僚的支持，他们周二在是否制定联邦堕胎限制问题上似乎存在严重分歧。
即使共和党在11月重新控制了参议院，参议院共和党二号人物、南达科他州参议员约翰·图恩(John Thune)表示，他不知道共和党人是否会对格雷厄姆的措施进行投票表决。
同样，在竞争激烈的竞选中，只有少数共和党参议员候选人立即表示支持这项措施，包括亚利桑那州的布莱克·马斯特斯和佐治亚州的赫歇尔·沃克。乔·欧迪亚是一名温和的共和党人，正在竞选科罗拉多州民主党参议员麦克·班尼，他告诉《丹佛邮报》，他不支持格雷厄姆的法案，并呼吁“在堕胎问题上保持平衡”
格雷厄姆的立法需要60票才能在参议院通过，这使得南卡罗来纳州保守派在当前的众议院中远远缺乏必要的支持。新泽西州共和党众议员克里斯·史密斯在众议院提出了一项配套法案。
最近几个月，参议院共和党人阻止了多项民主尝试，试图将堕胎权纳入法律，并保护实施堕胎手术的医生。
格雷厄姆在周二的新闻发布会上说:“我希望我们能就此进行辩论和投票。”他被反堕胎权利倡导者包围着。“他们(民主党人)有机会对他们的法案进行投票。我请求给我一个投票的机会。”
但是参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)之前为可能的全国堕胎禁令打开了大门，似乎关闭了对格雷厄姆的立法进行投票的机会。
“我认为我的会议的大多数成员更喜欢在州一级处理这个问题，”R-Ky的麦康奈尔说。
在共和党人希望关注糟糕的通胀数据的当天，格雷厄姆的举动将他的一些同事置于尴尬的政治境地。
北卡罗莱纳州共和党参议员托姆·蒂利斯告诉记者，他宁愿强调堕胎以外的问题。
“就我而言，我想把重点放在今天公布的通胀数据上，即将到来的(货运)铁路工人的潜在罢工。这就是人们正在谈论的，”蒂利斯说。
威斯康星州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊(Ron Johnson)是该党最脆弱的现任议员之一，他支持密西西比州在最高法院6月裁决的多布斯诉杰克逊案(Dobbs v. Jackson)中禁止大多数堕胎的愿望，并表示他不会支持联邦干预。
“此时此刻，国会不会通过任何法案。这得在美国决定。我认为这是决定此事的合适地点，”约翰逊周二告诉美国广播公司新闻。
得克萨斯州参议员约翰·科宁也同意这一想法，他告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我倾向于让各州处理这些问题。”科尔宁先前支持格雷厄姆在2020年提出的对大多数堕胎实施为期20周的联邦禁令，但他周二表示，这是在最高法院推翻罗伊案之前，将该问题发回各州。
据美国广播公司报道，自6月以来，至少有15个州停止了几乎所有的堕胎服务。
格雷厄姆的新提议也标志着与最近的评论不同，他也说堕胎是最好留给各州解决的问题，他在5月份发推文说:“如果最高法院推翻罗伊诉韦德案，我认为这是法院历史上最大的权力争夺之一，这意味着每个州都将决定堕胎是否合法以及在什么条件下。”
周二，格雷厄姆为自己的立场变化进行了辩护，他说:“在他们(民主党人)提出一项法案来定义他们是谁之后，我认为提出一项法案来定义我们(共和党人)是谁会很好。”
一些反堕胎权利倡导者说，虽然他们支持格雷厄姆的提议，但他们认为这还不够。
民主党人受到新注入活力的基础和多布斯裁决后出人意料的选举胜利的鼓舞，立即抓住格雷厄姆立法作为证据，证明共和党人正在推动民主党人所说的激进政策，这些政策将限制美国人从堕胎到同性恋婚姻等方面的权利，这是他们的候选人正在进行的一场辩论。
参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默说:“像今天这样的提案向全国妇女发出了一个明确的信息:你的身体，我们的选择。”"共和党人正在努力解释他们在堕胎问题上的立场。"
即将到来的中期选举中最脆弱的民主党现任参议员之一、内华达州参议员凯瑟琳·科尔特斯·梅斯托(Catherine Cortez Masto)在推特上说，“我将阻止参议院推进全国堕胎禁令的任何努力——完全停止。我们不需要更多的男性政治家来告诉女性我们能做什么，不能做什么。”
白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔猛烈抨击格雷汉姆的提议，称其“与美国人的信念完全不符”
“当拜登总统和哈里斯副总统专注于历史性地通过降低通货膨胀法案，以降低处方药、医疗保健和能源的成本，并采取前所未有的行动应对气候变化时，国会中的共和党人专注于剥夺数百万妇女的权利。总统和副总统正在争取进步，而共和党人正在努力让我们回来，”让-皮埃尔在一份声明中说，呼应了拜登最近几周的中期信息。
“在所有的装腔作势和混淆视听之后，我们终于有了答案。共和党的真实立场白纸黑字，大家都看得见，”华盛顿参议员帕蒂·默里(Patty Murray)说，她正在这个问题上领导竞选连任。
最近的民意调查显示堕胎权利在公众中享有广泛的支持，包括一个益普索民意调查从八月开始，发现大多数美国人会投票保护州一级的堕胎权。
Graham's proposed near-total national abortion ban quickly meets GOP resistance
Less than two months before the midterm elections, Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday introduced a bill that would impose a nationwide ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The measure, the first GOP effort to ban abortion at the national level since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, contains exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when a mother's life is in danger but otherwise would restrict abortions after the point when Graham, citing medical research, claimed a fetus' nerves develop enough to feel pain.
Senator Lindsey Graham unveils a nationwide abortion bill with new restrictions during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
"Our legislation, which bans abortion after 15 weeks gestation, will put the United States abortion policy in line with other developed nations such as France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and other European nations," Graham said Tuesday.
He and leaders of various anti-abortion and women's organizations have repeatedly argued that, without a federal abortion ban, the U.S. would be like North Korea, China, Iran and Syria, which he contended allow "abortion on demand."
But it is far from clear whether Graham has much support from his fellow Republicans, who appeared deeply divided Tuesday over whether to enact federal abortion restrictions.
Even if the GOP were to regain control of the Senate in November, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, said he didn't know if Republicans would proceed with a floor vote on Graham's measure.
Likewise, just a few of the GOP Senate candidates in competitive races immediately voiced support for the measure, including Arizona's Blake Masters and Georgia's Herschel Walker. Joe O'Dea, a moderate Republican running to unseat Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado, told the Denver Post he did not back Graham's bill and called for "balance on the abortion issue."
Graham's legislation would require 60 votes to advance in the Senate, leaving the South Carolina conservative well short of the necessary support for passage in the current chamber. A companion bill was introduced in the House by GOP Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey.
Senate Republicans in recent months have blocked multiple Democratic attempts to codify a right to an abortion and protect doctors who perform the procedure.
"I hope we get to debate on it and vote on it," Graham said at s Tuesday press conference, surrounded by anti-abortion rights advocates. "They [Democrats] had the chance to vote on their bill. I'm asking for a chance to vote on my bill."
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who previously opened the door to a possible national abortion ban, appeared to shut down chances of a vote on Graham's legislation.
"I think most of the members of my conference prefer this be dealt with at the state level," said McConnell, R-Ky.
The move by Graham, on a day when Republicans had hoped to focus on poor inflation numbers, put some of his colleagues in an awkward political position.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters he would rather stress issues other than abortion.
"I, for one, want to focus on the inflation numbers that came out today, the imminent potential strike with [freight] railway workers. That's what people are talking about," said Tillis.
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, one of the party's most vulnerable incumbents who supported Mississippi's desire to ban most abortions in the Dobbs v. Jackson case the Supreme Court decided in June, indicated he would not support federal intervention.
"At this point in time, nothing is going to pass Congress. It's got to be decided in the states. I think that is the appropriate place for this to be decided," Johnson told ABC News on Tuesday.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas signed on to that idea, too, telling ABC News, "My preference is to have each state handle those issues." Cornyn previously supported a 20-week federal ban on most abortions that Graham introduced in 2020, but he said Tuesday that that was before the Supreme Court overturned Roe, sending the issue back to the states.
At least 15 states have ceased nearly all abortion services since June, ABC News reports.
The new proposal from Graham also marks a departure from recent comments where he, too, said abortion was an issue best left to the states, tweeting in May: "If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which I believe was one of the largest power grabs in the history of the Court, it means that every state will decide if abortion is legal and on what terms."
On Tuesday, Graham defended his change in position, saying, "After they [Democrats] introduced a bill to define who they are, I thought it would be nice to introduce a bill to define who we [Republicans] are."
Some anti-abortion rights advocates said that, while they support Graham's proposal, they think it doesn't go far enough.
Democrats, buoyed by a newly-energized base and surprise election victories on the heels of the Dobbs decision, instantly seized on the Graham legislation as evidence Republicans are pushing what Democrats say are radical policies that will curb Americans' rights from abortion to gay marriage and beyond, an argument that their candidates are making on the trail.
"Proposals like the one today send a clear message from MAGA Republicans to women across the country: your body, our choice," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Republicans are twisting themselves in a pretzel trying to explain their position on abortion."
One of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the upcoming midterms, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, tweeted, "I will block any efforts in the Senate to advance a nationwide abortion ban — full stop. We don't need any more male politicians telling women what we can and can't do with our own bodies."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed Graham's proposal, saying it is "wildly out of step with what Americans believe."
"While President Biden and Vice President Harris are focused on the historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy – and to take unprecedented action to address climate change – Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions of women. The President and Vice President are fighting for progress, while Republicans are fighting to take us back," Jean-Pierre said in a statement, echoing the midterm messaging from Biden in recent weeks.
"After all the posturing and all the obfuscating, here we have it. The true Republican position in black and white for everyone to see," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who is leading her campaign for reelection on this issue.
Recent polling suggests that abortion rights enjoy broad support among the public, including anIpsos pollfrom August that found most Americans would vote to protect abortion access at the state level.
