Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Democrats have consistently reminded constituents that they can defend abortion rights at the polls in November. This week, they are renewing that push after a prominent Republican proposed a nationwide ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Democrats on Thursday spent a third day denouncing Sen. Lindsey Graham’s latest proposal to limit abortions. The Republican from South Carolina is calling for a federal law that would prohibit all abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of a mother.
It also would keep in place state laws that impose even more restrictions or ban abortion outright, actions made possible by the supreme court overturning Roe vs. Wade which mandated that states allow abortions up to viability which is 23 to 24 weeks. Democrats are calling Graham’s bill it an “abortion ban.”
"Republicans backing this new proposal want to ban every woman in American from seeking abortion care," Democrat Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts said during a speech on the House Floor on Thursday.
“This is not some sort of a hypothetical or a debate. If Republicans take control over the Senate, they are going to push for a national ban," said Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, during a press conference on the issue.
One political expert told Spectrum News that choosing to call Graham's bill an "abortion ban" was "a messaging tactic” for Democrats that tries to capitalize on broad public support for abortion access.
“The American people do not want politicians in their bedrooms and their doctors offices. They do not want Lindsey Graham to make health care decisions for them," said Assistant House Speaker Rep. Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Massachusetts, during a separate press conference on Wednesday.
Spectrum News asked the White House why it was choose to call Graham’s proposal an “abortion ban”.
“I think their intention are clear what they want is the ban on abortion services across this country. So we're calling it what it is, which is prohibiting people from getting a service, a medical service and from exercising their right to make decisions about their own bodies," said Jen Klein, the White House Gender Policy Council Director.
Less than two months before voters head to the polls, Graham has found limited Republican support for his proposal in Congress even among some staunch conservatives.
“I'm 100 percent pro life but I don't support it this time because I think voters ought to be able to weigh in on this and they are weighing in," said Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, during an exclusive interview with Spectrum News.
Other Republicans, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, are part of a bipartisan effort to find common ground on abortion rights. A spokesperson for Collins said the senator “thinks a better approach is to write the protections from Roe v. Wade and other Supreme Court decisions into law in order to restore the federal right to an abortion.”
Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, called Graham's proposal extreme.
"It's almost amusing if it wasn't so serious, you know? These are the guys who for years have been talking about states rights. I think they only like states rights if the states do what they want," King said on Tuesday.
Whether or not abortion access is one of the issues that galvanizes Americans to vote this fall remains to be seen but the significance of the issue is expected to vary from state to state and in some cases, district by district.