Media

Jean-Pierre Claims Lindsey Graham’s Proposed 15-Week Abortion Ban Is A ‘Radical’ Step

[Screenshot/Public/Rumble/White House press briefing]

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
Font Size:

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Tuesday that Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposed 15-week abortion ban is “wildly out of touch” with the majority of Americans.

Graham introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which intends to impose a national ban on abortion at 15-weeks gestation. The press secretary claimed the legislation is a national ban on abortion, though the proposed legislation does not criminalize abortion before 15 weeks, and she said it is a “radical step” in taking rights away from women.

“I want to say a word, a few words about the bill that Senator Graham just introduced just a couple of hours ago in the Senate, a national ban on abortion that would strip away a woman’s right in all 50 states. It’s wildly out of step with where the majority of Americans are. Today, while President Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris are focused on the historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and taking action to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare and energy, and the unprecedented action to address climate change as well, Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions, millions of women across the country,” Jean-Pierre said during the press conference.

“While we are fighting for progress, they are fighting to take us back. President Biden and congressional Democrats are committed to restoring the protections of Roe, and they are committed to doing so in the face of continued radical steps by elected Republicans to put personal healthcare decisions in the hands of politicians instead of women and their doctors,” the press secretary continued.

She said restrictions on abortion threaten a woman’s life and their health, and she urged the American people to stand up for their rights.

Graham’s legislation, backed by 45 other Senate Republicans, provides exceptions for rape, incest and the life and health of the mother, which is in bound with the majority of Americans, according to past polls conducted by Gallup and the Associated Press/NORC. The senator cited research at a Tuesday press conference indicating that a child’s nerve endings are fully developed by 15 weeks, allowing them to feel pain. (RELATED: ‘Can Feel Excruciating Pain’: Sen. Lindsey Graham Defends 15-Week Abortion Limit)

“If you’re going to operate on the baby, which happens, to save the child’s life, to provide it medical treatment, the standard practice in medicine is to provide anesthesia,” Graham said during the press conference. “Now why would you do that? You provide anesthesia because the science tells us at the 15-week period, the nerve endings of the baby are pretty well-developed and the child feels pain. So here’s our point. You have to provide anesthesia to keep the baby from feeling pain to help save its life. So should we as a nation be aborting babies that can feel excruciating pain from an abortion?”

Polls have shown that a majority of Americans support legalized abortion in the first trimester, but the support then drastically  drops below one half of the American population in the second and third trimesters. For example, a 2018 Gallup poll found 28% of Americans support abortion in the second trimester. The Gallup poll surveyed 1,024 adults between May 1-10, 2018, with a 4% margin of error.

Similarly, a 2021 Associated Press/NORC poll found 34% of Americans support legalizing abortion in the second trimester. The poll surveyed 1,025 adults between June 10-14, 2021, with a 4.2% margin of error.

All Senate Democrats, except for West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, attempted to pass legislation in May that intended to end bans on partial-birth and sex selective abortions. It also would have ended requirements that women be presented with an ultrasound before undergoing the procedure.