Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is in the middle of the latest battle over abortion – as a co-sponsor of a bill introduced Tuesday by fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to impose a federal 15-week abortion ban.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is in the middle of the latest battle over abortion – as a co-sponsor of a bill introduced Tuesday by fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to impose a federal 15-week abortion ban

  • Democrats in Washington are almost uniformly opposed to the proposal while Republicans have mixed views on it

  • Republicans have acknowledged that the legislation has no chance of making it through Congress, with Democrats in control

  • The bill includes exceptions for situations involving rape, incest, or risks to the life and physical health of the mother

The measure would restrict abortions across the country at 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, or if it is necessary to save the life of the mother. The rape exceptions also come with two stipulations: The victim must receive counseling and medical treatment at least 48 hours prior to the abortion.

The bill has very little chance of making it into law. It might not even make it to the floor of the Senate, with the chamber under Democratic control. Even then, it likely wouldn’t reach the 60 votes it would need to overcome a filibuster, and President Joe Biden would likely veto the bill in the unlikely event it reached his desk.

Graham has previously said that, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion should be left up to the states. 

The South Carolina Republican wrote on Twitter in May that “if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade … it means that every state will decide if abortion is legal and on what terms.” He also told CNN in June that “I think states should decide the issue of marriage and states should decide the issue of abortion.”

But when asked Tuesday about his change in position, Graham said that he wanted to stipulate his party’s stance on abortion: “After [Democrats] introduced a bill [efforts to codify Roe v. Wade into law] to define who they are, I thought it would be nice to introduce a bill to define who we are.”

Democrats have slammed the proposal, while Republicans attempted to distance themselves from Graham's announcement.

Although it would impose a nationwide ban on abortions after 15-weeks it also would allow states to keep more restrictive abortion laws bans in place. 

In Florida, there is already a 15-week abortion ban, a restriction that Rubio has defended. 

"It's not just in line with the law in Florida. It's in line with the law in Europe, in places like Spain, places like France," Sen. Rubio said, echoing a similar talking point made by Sen. Graham.

Rubio is one of the bill’s two co-sponsors alongside Montana Sen. Steve Daines.

The legislation puts fresh attention on the issue of abortion at a time when Republican leaders would prefer to focus attention on inflation and crime. That’s a shift Democrats will happily take, as polls show their position favoring abortion rights is more popular that Republican calls for new restrictions.

A top policy adviser for the White House on abortion rights told Spectrum News Wednesday that Graham's effort was "wildly out of step with what Americans believe," referring to polling that shows Americans largely support abortion rights.

"Senator Graham is going in the opposite direction to say, in fact, there should be abortion bans, a national abortion ban, across the country," said Jen Klein, co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council.

In response to a question about whether or not such a bill would come to the floor if Republicans take the Senate, Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., directed inquires to Graham.

"I think every Republican senator running this year in these contested races has an answer as to how they feel about the issue," McConnell said, adding: "I leave it up to our candidates who are quite capable of handling this issue to determine for them what their response is."

But, McConnell said, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”

Members of McConnell's caucus appeared inclined to agree with his assessment.

Sen. Rick Scott, Florida's other Republican Senator and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, says he's reviewing the proposal

"I know that it's been talked about around the country because the Democrats are trying to make that the big campaign issue because they can't talk about the economy or they can't talk about education or a secure border, things like that. So I'm looking at it we'll look at as each of these come out," Scott said. 

Abortion already had been a flashpoint in the race for Rubio’s Senate seat. 

After Graham’s announcement, Rubio’s opponent, Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings, wrote on Twitter: "I totally reject this proposed national abortion ban. It will take away fundamental rights and freedoms from every American woman and girl. My granddaughters would have fewer rights than I did."

Fellow Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida also on chimed in on the issued on Capitol Hill Wednesday voicing opposition: "We cannot allow a government takeover of women's bodies, and that is what we are in the midst of happenin."

Republicans have acknowledged that the legislation has no chance of making it through Congress, with Democrats in control. 

"Everyone knows this bill is not going to pass you know, we don't have 60 votes in the Senate to pass it. This is, this is going to be decided by voters, the other elected state legislators in each individual state," Rubio added.  

The bill includes exceptions for situations involving rape, incest, or risks to the life and physical health of the mother.