South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds joins chorus of states rights Republicans opposed to Graham abortion bill



South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds on Sunday joined several of his Republican colleagues in opposition of a national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Rounds said he does not support abortion legislation at the federal level, saying he believes it is a matter for state governments to decide.

"I think the individual states will come up with a multiple, a whole lot of different ideas about how to appropriately discuss abortion in general, and then I think there will be a consensus over a period of years," he told CNN anchor Jake Tapper. "But at this point, to have Congress step back and tell all the states that we know better than them how to handle this, is probably not the right direction to go."

\u201cMike Rounds says on CNN that he does not support Lindsey Graham's national abortion ban, though he leaves the door open for legislation of that sort in the future\u201d
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1663508169

Rounds added that there aren't enough votes in the House or the Senate to pass abortion restrictions, observing that multiple versions of a 20-week ban proposed by congressional Republicans before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade never passed.

The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ended constitutional protections for abortion and permitted states to ban or restrict the procedure according to the will of the people. While some pro-life activists hope for Congress to enact federal legislation restricting abortion, Republican elected officials are divided on the issue.

Graham's introduction of a 15-week abortion ban just two months away from the November elections sent GOP strategists into a frenzy of confusion and anxiety. Republican operatives that spoke to NBC News called it a "bad idea" and a political misstep that gives Democrats an opportunity to attack the GOP as extreme on abortion instead of defend their mishandling of the economy and inflation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) distanced himself from the bill, telling reporters last week, "most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level."

Pro-choice Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) meanwhile outright opposed Graham's bill in favor of federal protections for abortion rights.

Politico reported that several Republican senators "were highly perplexed at Graham’s decision to introduce a new abortion ban — more conservative than his previous proposals — at a precarious moment for the party.”

But Graham dismissed his critics in an interview on "Fox News Sunday," asserting that Democrats hold the extreme position on abortion.

"Chuck Schumer introduced legislation several months ago that would allow abortion on-demand up to the moment of birth, like China and North Korea, for the entire nation," Graham said Sunday. "What did I do in response? I said at 15 weeks when the baby can feel pain and sucks its thumb that we're gonna ban abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, life of the mother, we're talking almost four months into the pregnancy. It puts us in line with France, which is at 12 weeks. Germany, England is at 14 weeks. Only in Washington is it extreme to protect the baby at 15 weeks from an excruciating death."

"Here's what Dobbs says: Elected officials can make the decision, state or federal. I'm not inconsistent," he added. "To all the states’ rights people: There's a lot of things been done in this country under the name of states’ rights that was wrong."

Polls show that a majority of Americans support abortion rights, but do favor some restrictions. A Pew Research Center poll taken in July found that 62% of those surveyed said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. However, an AP-NORC poll also taken that month showed that while about two-thirds of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases throughout the first trimester, only 42% say it should be legal in the second trimester, and just 24% think abortion should be legal in the third trimester. About half of survey respondents said states should allow abortion through 15 weeks, which is the limit imposed by Graham's legislation.

Democrats claim Lindsey Graham's abortion ban is extreme, but polls say otherwise



South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would ban abortion nationally after fifteen weeks of pregnancy, the first such effort in the Senate since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Graham says his legislation, called the "Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act," would bring abortion restrictions in the United States into line with other developed countries and help Republicans running in the midterm elections.

"I see this as a responsible alternative to the very radical position by Democratic senators," Graham told Fox News in a statement. "I can assure that a vast majority of Americans do not support abortion on demand up to delivery."

"This bill puts us in line with the rest of the world, so when you're on the campaign trail you have a chance to talk about what you're for," he added.

Graham's bill contains exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother. It would impose a criminal penalty of up to five years in prison for physicians who perform abortions, but it explicitly prohibits women who seek an abortion from being prosecuted.

Previously, Graham has introduced legislation that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks, but those bills never found enough support in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. He acknowledged that his most recent effort will likely fail to meet the 60-vote threshold required and may not even receive a vote as long as Democrats control the Senate majority.

“If the Democrats are in charge, I don’t know if we’ll ever have a vote on our bill," Graham said.

Democrats issued scathing statements condemning the South Carolinian's proposal, insisting that abortion restrictions are unpopular and would take away women's rights.

“Today, Senator Graham introduced a national ban on abortion which would strip away women’s rights in all 50 states. This bill is wildly out of step with what Americans believe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“While President Biden and Vice President Harris are focused on the historic passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy – and to take unprecedented action to address climate change – Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions of women,” Jean-Pierre continued, contrasting Graham's bill with Democratic-led efforts to codify Roe v. Wade.

\u201cWhite House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calls Senator Lindsey Graham\u2019s abortion bill \u201cwildly out of step with what Americans believe.\u201d\u201d
— Emma Kinery (@Emma Kinery) 1663087595

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Graham's bill "extreme."

“The nationwide abortion ban proposal put forth today is the latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans’ intent to criminalize women’s health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care," she said in a statement. "Make no mistake: if Republicans get the chance, they will work to pass laws even more draconian than this bill – just like the bans they have enacted in states like Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.”

Democrats in recent weeks have gone on the offensive on abortion, attempting to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court's abortion decision and paint Republicans as anti-abortion extremists. Several GOP candidates have responded by removing hard-line pro-life stances from their websites and campaign materials and moderating their positions. But other Republicans have countered that the Democratic position of abortion on demand with no limits is equally extreme and out of touch with most Americans.

An AP-NORC poll taken in July found that most Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court's decision and want abortion legal in the first trimester, but also that they favor some abortion restrictions as the baby develops.

Fifty-three percent of survey respondents said they somewhat or strongly disapprove of the high court's abortion ruling, while 30% approved. While about two-thirds of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases throughout the first trimester, only 42% say it should be legal in the second trimester, and just 24% think abortion should be legal in the third trimester.

About half of survey respondents said states should allow abortion through 15 weeks, making Graham's proposal controversial but not extreme.

Florida judge strikes down 15-week abortion ban, DeSantis vows appeal



Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will appeal after a state court ruled the 15-week abortion ban he signed in April violates Florida's constitution.

In a Thursday decision, Leon County Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper blocked the abortion ban from taking effect on Friday. He ruled that the law violates "the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution."

\u201cBREAKING: Leon County Judge Cooper just ruled that Florida\u2019s 15 week abortion ban, is unconstitutional & he will be issuing a temporary injunction. \n\nThis is not the end \u2014 we likely have a long fight ahead of us. @FAPPA will continue to keep you updated on abortion access in FL.\u201d
— Florida Planned Parenthood Action (@Florida Planned Parenthood Action) 1656608009

The Florida law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy except for medical emergencies where the life of the mother is endangered or the unborn baby has a fatal defect. Violators could face up to five years in prison, and medical professionals who conduct abortions risk losing their licenses and paying fines of $10,000 per violation.

Left-wing groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on June 1 seeking an injunction against the Florida law.

They argued that the Florida law is "blatantly unconstitutional" under the state constitution, which reads in part: "Right of privacy: Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life.”

"In 1980, Florida voters amended the state constitution to provide broad protections for individual privacy rights — including abortion. And in 2012, voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 6, which would have taken those protections away," the ACLU of Florida said in a statement.

"While the U.S. Supreme Court’s shameful ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization took away the federal constitutional right to abortion, the Florida Constitution provides broad, independent protections for abortion. These protections, which have been repeatedly affirmed by Florida voters and decades of legal precedents, continue to protect Floridians’ fundamental right to abortion," the group argued.

ACLU lawyers and representatives from Florida abortion clinics celebrated the court's decision.

“We’re glad the court recognized Florida’s abortion ban is a cruel attack on people’s health, futures, and state constitutional rights,” ACLU attorney Whitney White said. “Florida’s 15-week ban would force people to carry pregnancies against their will, risking their health and depriving them of the right to make deeply personal decisions about the course of their own lives. This ban defies the will of the people and rights that Floridians have relied on for decades."

DeSantis' office rejected the court's argument in a statement announcing it would appeal the decision.

“While we are disappointed with today’s ruling, we know that the pro-life HB 5 will ultimately withstand all legal challenges. The Florida Supreme Court previously misinterpreted Florida’s right to privacy as including a right to an abortion. We reject this interpretation because the Florida Constitution does not include–and has never included–a right to kill an innocent unborn child. We will appeal today’s ruling and ask the Florida Supreme Court to reverse its existing precedent regarding Florida’s right to privacy. The struggle for life is not over.”

Kentucky Republicans override Democrat governor's veto of sweeping anti-abortion bill



The Republican-controlled Kentucky state legislature on Wednesday overrode a barrage of vetoes issued by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, including a veto of a pro-life law banning abortions after 15 weeks.

With their legislative supermajority, GOP lawmakers passed nearly two dozen bills the governor had opposed, including the new abortion restrictions, a fairness in women's sports bill, and welfare reform.

Among those bills is HB 3, a 72-page omnibus abortion law that imposes sweeping new restrictions on abortion in Kentucky. In addition to banning abortion procedures after 15 weeks of pregnancy, the new law prohibits receiving abortion medication by mail, requires that girls under 18 seeking an abortion show an abortionist informed written consent from a parent or legal guardian, requires that the corpses of aborted babies be buried or cremated, and more.

Beshear vetoed the legislation last week, criticizing the bill for lacking exemptions for rape and incest and claiming that it is likely unconstitutional. He raised a hypothetical scenario where a 12-year-old girl is raped by her father and would be required to notify her rapist to get an abortion.

"Rape and incest are violent crimes. Victims of these crimes should have options, not be further scarred through a process that exposes them to more harm from their rapists or that treats them like offenders themselves," Beshear said.

The governor also opposed what he said was an "unfunded mandate" in the law, citing a requirement that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services create an oversight system to monitor drugs used to induce abortions.

Opponents of the legislation, including the Kentucky chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, have threatened legal action challenging the new law. They say it contains so many restrictions that it will effectively eliminate access to abortion in Kentucky.

“Because the law is impossible to comply with, it amounts to a de facto abortion ban, thus violating patients’ federal right to abortion under Roe v. Wade," representatives from the two organizations said in a statement.

Pro-life activists at Kentucky Right to Life counter that the law implements needed health regulations on "at-home abortions via mail-order" and that all unborn children deserve a right to live, regardless of the circumstances of their conception.

"Without an in-person consultation between a pregnant woman or minor girl and a medical professional, not only is it difficult to assess any serious risk factors such as an ectopic pregnancy, pre-existing conditions or the presence of STIs - sexual transmitted infections, but the door is left wide open for vulnerable women and girls to be physically forced into an unwanted or quick decision on abortion," Kentucky Right to Life said in a statement opposing Beshear's veto.

"The Governor states that there is no exception for rape and incest. The issues of rape and incest are extremely sensitive and personal matters, and those harmed by sexual violence often carry a lifetime of scars," the group said.

"Unfortunately, those opposed to any restrictions on abortions often insert rape and incest to undermine the legislation. The fact that statements on HB 3 are made about such tragic and life-impacting matters as rape or incest without fully reading the bill ... which explicitly indicates exceptions for sexual abuse and sexual abuse by the minor girl's parent — is a political travesty."

Two previous Kentucky laws banning abortion at six and 14 weeks have been blocked in federal court after legal challenges from the state's two abortion providers, Planned Parenthood and EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville.

The Republican legislature overrode several more vetoes from the Democratic governor.

Senate Bill 83, legislation that bans gender-dysphoric males from competing against girls and women in sixth grade through college, is now law in Kentucky. So is HB 9, which funds charter schools; HB 7, which adds new rules to public benefits programs including Medicaid and food stamps; HB 8, an income tax cut; and SB 216, an election security bill that requires more post-election audits, video surveillance of voting machines and ballot boxes when not in operation for the general election, and a full transition to paper ballots by 2024.