Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposal to restrict abortion access in all states after a fetus reaches 15 weeks of gestational age is an affront to women’s rights and should be rejected.
Every U.S. senator should oppose the plan, which the South Carolina Republican introduced Tuesday.
But no senators have a greater responsibility to just say no than Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, both from Kansas. Just six weeks ago, more than 540,000 Kansans said in an unmistakable voice that abortion access is a fundamental right in the state.
The message could not have been more clear. If Moran or Marshall — or both — now seek to impose new restrictions on abortion access, in Kansas and across the nation, they will have plainly ignored the will of the very people who elected them to office.
Happily, it appears Graham’s measure has little chance of becoming law. It will likely fail to reach a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, and the current House won’t take up the measure. Further, were it to pass in Congress, we’re confident President Joe Biden would veto it.
But it’s still highly important as a symbol of Republican intransigence on abortion rights.
Many Republicans continue to insist on relegating women to second-class status no matter what Americans think or say on the issue.
For the last several weeks, opponents of abortion rights in Kansas have tried to cast doubt on the results of the Aug. 2 vote. The ballot language was too confusing, they say, even though they wrote it.
The “mainstream” media misled the public. The pro-choice community had too much money. Yard signs were stolen, they claimed. The vote itself was corrupt, and a recount was needed.
It’s all patently ridiculous. Kansans knew exactly what they were voting on. They registered and cast their ballots.
The election was free and fair. Anti-abortion advocates should not be allowed to rewrite history.
Yet Kansas lawmakers are already whispering about attempts to pass new abortion limits in 2023. The voters’ decision “does not mean the discussion has ended,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt said over the weekend.
That’s frustrating — yet it’s undeniably true.
Abortion opponents recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare “personhood” for a fetus, potentially from the moment of conception.
House Republicans have said they’ll take up a comprehensive national abortion ban if the party prevails in November.
