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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has many people cheering after perfectly laying out the hypocrisy of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's proposed nationwide abortion ban.
Graham's proposed bill would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy regardless of state-level laws, a shocking reversal of Republicans' attempts to justify the Supreme Court's overturn of abortion rights in its June Dobbs decision by casting it as a deferral to the 10th Amendment concept of "states' rights."
Graham himself repeatedly defended Dobbs on the basis of the hallowed Republican devotion to states' rights, but it seems he's forgotten all about that now, and Jean-Pierre wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to point out the inconsistency.
In Tuesday's press briefing, she directly quoted Graham's own words to paint his proposed abortion ban as precisely what it is: an attempt to force the right-wing's radical anti-science reproductive healthcare agenda on the entire country, including "blue" states.
See her comments below:
\u201cWH Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre highlights Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) hypocrisy over 15-week abortion legislation:\n\n"I'm gonna quote Lindsey Graham from August 7, 2022 and he said ... 'I think states should decide the issue of abortion.' That's from his own mouth."\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1663094647
Asked about the proposed ban, Jean-Pierre said:
“I’m going to quote Senator Lindsey Graham from Aug. 7, 2022."
"And he said: ‘I’ve been consistent. I think states should decide the issue of marriage and states should decide the issue of abortion.’"
"That’s from his own mouth, and now he wants to do a national ban.”
Graham's bill, melodramatically titled the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act,” seeks to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, hardly the "late-term" focus the bill's name suggests, given that 15 weeks is only the second trimester of a normal 40-week pregnancy.
Many have theorized Graham's bill is an attempt by the GOP to appear more reasonable on the topic of abortion in advance of the midterms in November because of the massive backlash the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade seems to have inspired, including a recent landslide defeat of a proposed abortion ban in Kansas, a reliably Republican-voting state.
The bill is a new version of legislation Graham has tried to pass before, though previous versions sought to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy rather than 15.
Graham's bill does include exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. But as Jean-Pierre also noted, it would uphold current state-level abortion bans that do not contain such exceptions, and have already resulted in adverse health outcomes since the SCOTUS Dobbs decision.
On Twitter, people applauded Jean-Pierre for speaking out about a proposal that has left many outraged.
\u201c@therecount Lindsey Graham was ready and wiling to let the individual states decide the issue for them selves until he realized what was happening across the country. NOW he's decided to stick his nose in between a doctor and patient. He obviously didn't "check the temperature of the room"\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1663094647
\u201c@therecount @CREWcrew @AmericanMuck @politicsusa46 LG the consummate political opportunist just outsmarted himself. He's unfortunately around until '27. If not imprisoned \ud83e\udd1emay he be heretofore rendered politically impotent.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1663094647
\u201c@atrupar Everyone should send @LindseyGrahamSC a pair of flip flops to his office.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1663093905
\u201cAnyone surprised by @LindseyGrahamSC's hypocrisy?\u201d— Dr. NKMJWY (@Dr. NKMJWY) 1663160321
\u201c@atrupar @Acyn I\u2019m pro-life but antigovt control. Don\u2019t tax me to pay for abortions. Passing laws that are absolute bans against rape, incest or a danger to the mother is a hell no! Prosecuting HC providers? Obgyns already have to pay exorbitant amounts of $ for insurance to practice. Nope.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1663093905
\u201c@OccupyDemocrats @LindseyGrahamSC straight up lied to the American people when he said "states rights". \n\nThey only want states rights when it benefits their agenda and no one else's. This has never been about "pro-life", its control and forced birth. \n\nVote Blue, you're life depends on it.\u201d— Occupy Democrats (@Occupy Democrats) 1663093186
\u201c@OccupyDemocrats When will people realize they aren\u2019t for the American people\u201d— Occupy Democrats (@Occupy Democrats) 1663093186
\u201c@kylegriffin1 Lady G\u2019s bill is a distraction method. Makes no sense for them to create a nationwide ban when Rs were scrubbing their views on abortion from their websites. Question is what\u2019s coming down the pipeline that they\u2019re trying to get ahead of.\u201d— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1663088109
\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
As many have pointed out, Graham's and the GOP's gambit is far more likely to blow up in their faces.
Jean-Pierre called Graham's proposal “wildly out of step with what Americans believe," a claim borne out by the record-breaking surge in female voter registrations since June 24, including in some of the deepest red states in the country.