南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员林赛·格雷厄姆本周提议为期15周的全国堕胎禁令除了少数例外，在11月中期选举前的最后八周，格雷厄姆希望将他的法案提交投票表决。
的宣布立法很快就被民主党抓住了世卫组织认为支持堕胎是一个激励问题对全国的选民来说，即使是在红色州。
潜在的禁令也引发了共和党人的一系列问题，他们一直在抨击拜登政府的高通胀数据。
格雷厄姆在美国广播公司新闻上为这一举动辩护。“我认为这就是这个国家的现状。所以，我不介意谈论反堕胎问题，”他周三说，并补充说，“我认为随着时间的推移，我的提议将得到广大公众的支持。”
“你需要坚持自己的信念，对吗?这是一件好事，”他说。
距离决定国会控制权的大选只有大约两个月的时间，格雷厄姆的提议分裂了共和党，共和党一直在努力为全国不同地区采取混合信息自从最高法院推翻了罗伊诉韦德案并裁定堕胎应由各州自行决定。
格雷厄姆的提议是自该决定以来共和党首次在联邦层面禁止堕胎的努力，并包含强奸、乱伦或母亲生命处于危险中的有限例外情况。
前副总统迈克·彭斯说，他支持全国禁令，在周三的采访中讲述真正清晰的政治他认为“全国各州反堕胎美国人的热情等于或大于支持堕胎权利的人的任何新动力。”
彭斯说，禁止15周后的大多数堕胎“比任何短期政治都要重要得多。”
但其他共和党人——有些人在战场州艰难的中期选举中——已经远离拟议的立法，称堕胎限制应由各州决定。
亚利桑那州共和党参议员提名人布莱克·马斯特斯反对现任参议员马克·凯利，在周二发表支持该法案的言论后，周三在尤马边境的一次活动中避免讨论格雷厄姆的堕胎禁令。他周三表示，如果格雷厄姆的法案没有通过，共和党人应该采取“第三季度独立法案”
“当然，我们都同意，在美国，我们不应该像中国和朝鲜那样容忍晚期堕胎，”马斯特斯在美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说。
马斯特斯在电视广告中因其反堕胎立场而受到民主党人的攻击，他已经支持为期15周的堕胎禁令，只有母亲的生命除外，该禁令很快将在亚利桑那州生效。然而，在罗伊案被推翻后，他确实删除了关于这个话题的网站，删除了“我100%反对堕胎”的内容。
堕胎权已被证明是选民的一个驱动因素，这在堪萨斯州表现得最为强烈，当时这个历史上保守的州以压倒性多数否决了一项将堕胎权从州宪法中剥夺的公投。
堕胎权也被视为纽约州和阿拉斯加州特别选举的一个影响因素，在这两个州，民主党候选人以堕胎为竞选重点赢得了竞选。即使是格雷厄姆家乡南卡罗来纳州的共和党人也很难通过堕胎禁令。
在佐治亚州，共和党人赫歇尔·沃克(Herschel Walker)与现任众议员拉斐尔·沃诺克(Raphael Warnock)激烈竞争，他说这个问题“应该在州一级决定，但我会支持”格雷厄姆在参议院的提议。
共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊(Ron Johnson)是该党最脆弱的现任者之一，正在威斯康星州竞选连任，他说，“国会不会通过任何东西”，这个问题应该由各州决定。
“这必须在美国决定。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。
宾夕法尼亚州共和党参议员候选人穆罕默德·奥兹博士的发言人提出了类似的观点，暗示他不会支持格雷厄姆法案，但没有直接置评。
“奥兹医生是反堕胎的，但有三个例外:母亲的生命、强奸和乱伦。作为一名参议员，他希望确保联邦政府不会干预该州在这个问题上的决定，”他的发言人说。
特朗普支持的新罕布什尔州周二共和党初选获胜者唐·博尔达克(Don Bolduc)表示，他不会投票支持该法案。
“我认为联邦政府应该置身事外，”博尔达克在接受美国广播公司采访时表示，他是一名反堕胎人士。“让各州去处理吧。这将是我在华盛顿特区的职位。”
科罗拉多州的共和党参议员候选人乔·欧迪亚说，他支持堕胎限制的不同立场，而不是格雷厄姆所呼吁的。
“美国希望在堕胎问题上保持平衡，而不是极左和极右之间永远的冷战。国会应该通过一项法案，保护女性在怀孕早期的选择权，无论女性是住在密西西比州还是马萨诸塞州，并且应该对非医学必要的晚期堕胎和未成年人的父母通知进行合理的限制。我不支持参议员格雷厄姆的法案，”O'Dea在一份声明中说。
“共和党的禁令是鲁莽和音盲的，就像乔·拜登和查克·舒默对考虑任何关于晚期堕胎、父母通知或宗教医院良心保护的妥协的敌意一样，”O'Dea说。
Former Vice President Mike Pence waves to the crowd as he prepares to addresses the convocation at Liberty University, on Sep. 14, 2022, in Lynchburg, Va.
史蒂夫·赫尔伯/美联社
俄亥俄州共和党参议员提名人JD Vance和内华达州共和党参议员提名人Adam Laxalt没有回应置评请求。
候选人的距离随着参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔周二的到来泼冷水格雷厄姆的提议。当被问及如果共和党夺回众议院，他是否会将这项措施提交给参议院时，麦康奈尔说，“我的会议的大多数成员更喜欢在州一级处理这个问题。”
其他共和党人支持这项立法。
佛罗里达州参议员马尔科·卢比奥是格雷厄姆提议的禁令的原始共同提案人。他的支持来自他的大选对手，民主党众议员Val Demings，对现任的反堕胎观点进行了竞选攻击。
当被问及他对该法案的立场是否会影响他在与戴明斯的竞选中获得的支持时，卢比奥在华盛顿告诉记者，他“从未从政治上分析过这个问题”，但他坚定地“反对堕胎”。
“这从来就不是一个谜。我从来没有隐瞒过。我会投票支持任何有助于它的法案，”他说，并指出，如果投票表决，该法案可能不会通过。
“不，当然，这将在州一级处理……如果[民主党]认为这是一个如此大的政治胜利，那么他们就不应该担心各州的决定，”卢比奥说。“他们知道它不会在这里通过。”
戴明斯的发言人在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻，佛罗里达州人将“在11月让卢比奥为他的不接触立场负责”，此前有消息称他是格雷厄姆禁令的共同提案人。
共和党众议员特德·巴德(Ted Budd)正在与民主党人切丽·比斯利(Cheri Beasley)进行激烈的参议院竞选，周三也签署了格雷厄姆参议院立法的众议院版本的共同提案。
另外，得克萨斯州参议员约翰·科宁和北卡罗莱纳州参议员托姆·蒂利斯等知名共和党人支持各州应该决定自己在堕胎问题上的立场。
GOP hopefuls, lawmakers splinter over Lindsey Graham's proposed abortion ban
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's proposal this week of a15-week national abortion ban-- with limited exceptions -- has drawn mixed reaction from other conservatives in the final eight weeks before the November midterms, after which Graham hopes to bring his bill up for a vote.
The announcement ofthe legislationwas quickly seized upon by Democratswho see support for abortion access as a motivating issuefor voters across the country, even in red states.
The potential ban also inspired a slew of questions for Republicans who had been assailing the Biden administration over high inflation numbers.
Graham defended the move to ABC News. "I think that's where the country is at. So, I don't mind talking about pro-life issues," he said Wednesday, adding, "I think my proposal over time will be supported by the public at large."
"You need to stand up for what you believe, right? That's a good thing," he said.
With just about two months until the general election that will decide control of Congress, Graham's proposal has splintered the Republican Party, which had worked to adopt mixed messages for different parts of the countrysince the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadein June and ruled that abortion should be left up to individual states.
Graham's proposal is the first GOP effort to ban abortion on a federal level since that decision and contains limited exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said he supported a national ban,telling Real Clear Politics in a Wednesday interviewthat he believed "enthusiasm among pro-life Americans in states across the country is equal to, or greater than, any new motivation by people that support abortion rights."
Pence said that barring access to most abortions after 15 weeks was "profoundly more important than any short-term politics."
But other Republicans -- some in difficult midterm races in battleground states -- have distanced themselves from the proposed legislation, saying abortion restrictions should be up to individual states.
Blake Masters, Arizona's Republican Senate nominee against incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, avoided discussion of Graham's abortion ban while at a Yuma border event on Wednesday, following his Tuesday remarks in support of the bill. He said Wednesday if Graham's bill does not pass, Republicans should take up a "a third-trimester standalone bill."
"Certainly we can all agree that in America, we shouldn't tolerate late-term abortion like China and North Korea do," Masters said in a statement to ABC News.
Masters -- under fire in TV ads by Democrats for his anti-abortion stance -- already supports a 15-week ban on abortion, with exceptions only for the life of the mother, soon to take effect in Arizona. He did, however, scrub his website of the topic after Roe was overturned, removing language that said "I am 100% pro-life."
Abortion access has proven to be a driving issue for voters, demonstrated most strongly in Kansas, when the historically conservative state overwhelmingly rejected a referendum that would have stripped away abortion rights from the state constitution.
Abortion access has also been seen as an influencing factor in special elections in New York and Alaska, where Democratic candidates with campaigns focused on abortion won their races. Even Republicans in Graham's home state of South Carolina are having trouble passing an abortion ban.
In Georgia, Republican Herschel Walker -- locked in a tight race against incumbent Rep. Raphael Warnock -- said the issue "should be decided at the state level, but I WOULD support" Graham's proposal in the Senate.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the party's most vulnerable incumbents, up for reelection in Wisconsin, said "nothing is going to pass in Congress" and that the issue should be left up to states.
"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.
A spokesperson for Dr. Mehmet Oz, the GOP candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, made a similar point, suggesting he would not support the Graham bill but not directly commenting.
"Dr. Oz is pro-life with three exceptions: life of the mother, rape and incest. And as a senator, he'd want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state's decisions on the topic," his spokesperson said.
Don Bolduc, the Trump-endorsed winner of New Hampshire's Tuesday GOP primary, said he would not vote for the bill.
"I believe the federal government should stay out of it," Bolduc, who has campaigned as anti-abortion, told ABC News. "Let the states deal with it. That's going to be my position in Washington, D.C."
The Republican Senate candidate in Colorado, Joe O'Dea, said he supported a different position on abortion restrictions -- not what Graham called for.
"America wants balance on the abortion issue, not a forever cold war between the far left and the far right. Congress should pass a bill protecting a woman's right to choose early in pregnancy, whether a woman lives in Mississippi or Massachusetts, and there should be sensible limits on non-medically necessary late term abortion and parental notification for minors. I don't support Senator Graham's bill," O'Dea said in a statement.
"A Republican ban is as reckless and tone deaf as is Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer's hostility to considering any compromise on late term abortion, parental notification, or conscience protections for religious hospitals," O'Dea said.
Ohio GOP Senate nominee JD Vance and Nevada GOP Senate nominee Adam Laxalt did not respond to requests for comment.
The candidates' distance comes as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesdaythrew cold wateron Graham's proposal. When asked if he would bring the measure to the Senate floor should the GOP retake the chamber, McConnell said "most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level."
Other Republicans have embraced the legislation.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is an original co-sponsor of Graham's proposed ban. His support comes as his general election opponent, Democratic Rep. Val Demings, has levied campaign attacks on the incumbent's anti-abortion views.
When asked if his position on the bill would influence support for him in his race against Demings, Rubio told reporters in Washington that he'd "never analyzed this politically" but that's he's staunchly "pro-life."
"That has never been a mystery. I've never hidden that. And I'll vote for any bill that helps it," he said, noting that the legislation would not likely pass if voted upon.
"No, of course, this is going to be dealt with at the state level … If [Democrats] think this is such a big political winner, then they shouldn't be worried about states deciding," Rubio said. "They know it's not going to pass here."
A spokesperson for Demings told ABC News in a statement that Floridians will "hold Rubio accountable for his out of touch stance in November," following news of his co-sponsorship of Graham's ban.
Rep. Ted Budd, R- N.C., running in a competitive Senate race against Democrat Cheri Beasley, on Wednesday also signed on as co-sponsor of a House version of Graham's Senate legislation.
Separately, big-name Republicans like Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina have backed the idea that states should dictate their position on abortion.
