Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday led a group of anti-choice lawmakers in introducing a bill to the U.S. Senate that would ban nearly all abortions in the country after 20 weeks, seeking to bring to the Senate the same legislation that passed the House of Representatives last month.
The legislation, called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would only give narrow exceptions for those with life-threatening conditions, rape survivors who have received medical care or counseling at least 48 hours prior to receiving an abortion, and minors who have reported rape or incest to law enforcement or child protective services.
As many critics of the bill have pointed out, it is based on the false premise that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks—a political argument that has been debunked by science and medical experts.
At a press conference following the session on Thursday, Graham told reporters that he would “insist” that the bill gets a vote in the Senate, even if it did not have a chance of being signed into law by President Barack Obama.
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“I am dying for that debate. I’m going to quite frankly insist that we have that debate,” Graham said.
As the Center for Reproductive Rights noted on Thursday, abortion bans at 20 weeks “take critical medical decisions out of the hands of women and their trusted health care providers at a time when those services may be the best medical option for a variety of reasons.”
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