Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is not following former President Donald Trump‘s lead on abortion, saying on Monday that he still believes a national abortion law should be pursued even if Trump says that states should be the ultimate arbiters on abortion policy.
The South Carolina Republican, a close ally to Trump, released a statement on Monday saying he still wants a national abortion limit after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography,” Graham said.
“The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision,” he added. “The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain.”
Graham was comparing the 2022 ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the issue of abortion to the states, and the 1857 ruling in Dred Scott v. Stanford that barred citizenship to black slaves prior to the Civil War.
Trump said in a video on Truth Social that states now should be able to decide by voting and legislation on access to abortion. President Joe Biden responded with a statement warning if Trump is elected to a second term, Republicans will deliver him a national abortion ban to sign.
Graham said that he will “continue” his push for a “national minimum standard limiting abortion” after 15 weeks — an idea central to a proposal he introduced in a 2022 bill that has failed to gain traction — with exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother that Trump also supports.
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“However, until we achieve this goal, the least we can do is to provide anesthesia to an unborn child facing an abortion at fifteen weeks because they can feel pain,” Graham said.
“Therefore, I will be introducing new legislation requiring abortion providers to administer anesthesia to an unborn child at fifteen weeks because they are capable of feeling pain,” he continued. “It is common medical practice to administer anesthesia to operate on an unborn child at fifteen weeks to save their life.”
Graham concluded, “Forty-seven of fifty European nations have national limits on abortion between twelve and fifteen weeks. This is the civilized world’s position.”