Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday reiterated his support for new efforts to ban abortion — even as some senior Senate Republicans have kept their distance from Senator Lindsey Graham’s new bill banning abortion nationwide after 15 weeks.
“I applaud any effort to advance the cause of life in state or nation capitals,” Graham said when asked about a federal ban on abortion.
“And I have every confidence that the next Republican president, whoever that may be, will stand up for the right to life,” he told Real Clear Politics on a day while speaking for a group at a gala in Washington, supported abortion restrictions.
“It is imperative that Republicans and Conservatives resolve here and now that we do not shy away from fighting,” said Pence, who has long staked anti-life positions as Indiana governor, as GOP leader of the House of Representatives, and then as Donald Trump’s vice president .
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke Tuesday at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Gala at the National Building Museum in Washington. He then said he supports “all efforts to advance the cause of life” in the wake of Senator Lindsey Graham’s new 15-week abortion ban
Pence also brushed aside political concerns, even as Democrats have posted poll gains since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Voters in crimson Kansas rejected a referendum to let state legislatures regulate abortion after the Roe v. Wade had knocked down.
“I am convinced that the enthusiasm among pro-life Americans in states across the country is equal to or greater than any new motivation from people who support abortion rights,” said Pence, a potential GOP nominee for president in 2024, which infuriated Trump by rejecting his call to refuse to accept votes certified by states during the January 6, 2021 electoral vote count.
Graham introduced his new ban Tuesday but was met with a cool reception from GOP leaders.
“As for his bill, you’ll have to ask him about it. As far as planning goes, I think most members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.
Pence said it’s imperative Republicans ‘don’t shy away from fighting’
Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday introduced his new law banning abortion nationwide after 15 weeks with limited exemptions
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said, “I think there’s going to be some disagreement. I prefer that every state address these issues.’
McConnell’s number two, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, said, “Right now, I think individual states are finding their own political consensus on this issue,” the Washington Post reported.
The White House tore up Graham on Tuesday over his efforts, a sign Democrats believe they can use it against Republicans in a fight for control of Congress.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the new legislation Graham introduced in the Capitol “extreme” — and then cited comments from the senator just weeks ago after the court’s decision.
“I will quote Lindsey Graham on August 7, 2022. And he said: I was consistent. I think states should decide marriage and states should decide abortion. This is coming from his own mouth and now he wants to enforce a national ban,” Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing.
Senior Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, expressed their preference for states looking at abortion policy after the Supreme Court decision
“The senator’s proposal, which retains the most extreme state-level abortion bans, banning all abortions and having no sanity, sanity, rape or incest exceptions. That’s exactly what his bill would do. Nor does it provide exceptions for women who need access to an abortion for health reasons. That does the math.
“It’s an extreme law and it conforms, as we see from Republicans, to those extreme agendas, that’s not consistent — that’s not consistent with the majority of Americans.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer also ran against Graham when he appeared in the White House to acclaim the Inflation Reduction Act.
“What are the MAGA Republicans doing over in the Capitol today? Introduction of national abortion bans. Just incredible,” he said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed comments Sen. Lindsey Graham made about letting states decide on abortion after Graham introduced a new statewide abortion ban at 15 weeks pregnant
“I’ve been consistent — I think states should rule on the issue of marriage and states should rule on the issue of abortion,” Graham told CNN last month
Graham tweeted in May before the Supreme Court overthrew Roe
Graham said he designed his bill to go into effect when a fetus is in pain. The title contains the phrase “Late Date”. It imposed the ban on 15 weeks
He described the Roe decision as a “seizure of power”.
Some of Graham’s earlier comments echoed Senate critics when he commented on the issue on CNN, after President Biden and Democrats pointed to a consensus by Justice Clarence Thomas that gay marriage protections could fall next.
“I’ve been consistent — I think states should decide the issue of marriage and states should decide the issue of abortion,” Graham said.
He also tweeted in May that if the Supreme Court overthrows Roe, “each state will decide whether abortion is legal and on what terms.”
Graham’s legislation would allow conservative states to impose stricter bans on abortion.
But it would generally override pro-democracy-leaning states that offer greater abortion protections.
Asked at his press conference to correct his earlier statements, Graham balked: “Pretty simple. After they introduced the bill to define who they are, I thought it would be nice to introduce a bill to define who we are.
He was referring to the Democrats’ push to protect Roe v. Codify Wade into law. The bill can’t currently make it through the 50-50 Senate, but Democrats are calling their numbers at two to garner sufficient support, assuming they push past a filibuster.
In a tense moment Tuesday, a mother who survived the Highland Park mass shooting confronted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at a Tuesday news conference where he introduced legislation banning abortion after 15 weeks.
The woman – Ashbey Beasley, who said she had an abortion at 16 weeks – told reporters afterwards that she “crashed” the media event while she was in the US Capitol to sign up for GOP Senators Pat Toomey and Mike Braun for gun control.
Graham’s bill provides exceptions for abortions after 15 weeks when the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, and for rape – although the rape victim must have received at least 48 hours of medical treatment and counseling for the trauma before the abortion.
At one point, the South Carolina senator tore into the Democrats’ own abortion access bill, claiming its flimsy legal window put the US on a par with countries like Syria and Iran.
“The Democrats wanted a national standard, and their standard was basically abortion to the point of birth — which puts you in the Iran, Syria club,” Graham said.
He also called the Democrats’ proposal, which passed the House of Representatives but would likely fail the Senate, “whacko.”
Graham’s abortion bill is the first Republican law affecting procedure since the Supreme Court issued the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade lifted.
Flanked by pro-life activists, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced new legislation that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, except for rape and incest
Ashbey Beasley, the Highland Park shooting survivor, “broke down” Graham’s press conference to confront him about what would happen to women like her who had an abortion after discovering a fatal fetal abnormality at 16 weeks
During his press conference, he shrugged off fears that the legislation could make Republican midterm candidates more vulnerable, given how much the Dobbs Supreme Court decision against Jackson Women’s Health boosted the left’s grassroots.
“I don’t think that will do us any harm,” Graham said.
“I think it’s going to hurt more [Democrats] when they’re trying to explain to a sane person why it’s okay to be more like Iran and less like France when it comes to abortion.’