Democrats Decry Graham’s 15-Week Abortion Ban

Congressional Democrats are decrying a bill unveiled by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would ban abortion at a federal level after 15 weeks.

Graham on Sept. 13 unveiled the bill, dubbed the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act. The legislation is similar to another bill introduced in the Senate by Graham last year but it would change the prohibition from the previous bill’s 20-week ban to a reduced 15-week ban.

During a press conference on the bill, Graham argued that the legislation, which would target physicians providing banned abortions rather than women seeking them, is necessary to place the United States in line with most of the rest of the developed world. In Europe, Graham noted, 47 of the continent’s 50 countries ban abortion after 12 to 15 weeks of gestation.

Under the terms of the bill, physicians providing banned abortions after the legal threshold would be on the hook for a federal criminal charge carrying a fine and as long as five years in federal prison.

However, the bill would permit exceptions in cases where physicians determine the mother’s life is in danger or for children who are the product of rape or incest.

Predictably, Democrats were quick to decry the bill, coming in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as an assault on women’s rights.

During a speech on the Senate floor before Graham unveiled the bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called it a “radical bill to institute a nationwide restriction on abortions,” and made clear that his party opposed the bill.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) echoed the sentiment in a statement, saying Republicans “are gleefully charging ahead with their deadly crusade to punish and control women’s health decisions.”

“We are already seeing the agonizing reality of

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