On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) led Republicans in the Senate in introducing legislation to impose a nationwide abortion ban.
The legislation uses loaded and deceitful language in its title. The bill, called the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act” by its anti-abortion proponents, would ban all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It would only allow abortion after that timeframe if a person is the victim of rape or incest, or if their pregnancy poses a risk to their life.
Physicians largely agree there is no such thing as a “late-term abortion,” and that the terminology is meant to mislead people into opposing the procedure. Even so, describing week 15 as “late” in a pregnancy is incredibly inaccurate, many have pointed out.
“Pregnancy is 40 weeks. 15 is NOT late,” political commentator Lindy Li said on Twitter. “‘Late-term’ abortion is just as FAKE as ‘pro-life.'”
The bill isn’t expected to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but it’s likely that the legislation is meant to send a message to the GOP’s anti-abortion voting base — that if they turn out in the 2022 midterms to vote Republicans into congressional power, more legislation like this will be the result.
Indeed, Republicans have been clear about how they will act on abortion should they win control of one or both houses of Congress this year. In May, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said that he and other GOP lawmakers would “certainly legislate in that area” if they won the Senate.
Reproductive rights advocates and members of the media blasted the legislation on social media.
“A few months ago Republicans were heralding the fact that abortion decisions were being sent back to the voter and to the states,” noted Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications for EMILY’s List. “Now they want a national abortion ban.”
“We should be clear that this is actually a blue state abortion ban. The vast majority of red states already have bans stricter than this one,” Talking Points Memo founder Josh Marshall said. “So the point here is really only to overrule the laws of blue states that protect abortion rights.”
“I’m already seeing the ‘it’s only 15 weeks’ talking point, as if the end of Roe didn’t *start with incrementalism*,” said journalist Andrea Grimes. “Anti-abortion politicians have never stopped at 20 or 15 or 12 or 6 weeks, and they aren’t going to do it now, either!”
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy