Unhinged Lindsey Graham Yells, Spews Lies About Abortion

Sen. Lindsey Graham couldn’t keep his cool when he was questioned about his position on abortion and whether it aligns with Donald Trump’s stance that it is a state issue. Graham recently proposed federal legislation banning abortions after 15 weeks but had previously indicated he believed states should decide whether to ban the procedure.

“Senator, I have heard you say both on this issue, that it is a state issue, but now you do support a federal ban,” Dana Bash said during Graham’s appearance on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.

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Last May, Graham tweeted that leaving abortion rights to the states would be “the most constitutionally sound way of dealing with this issue.” And in June 2022, he said on Fox News, “All of us in the conservative world have believed that there’s nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion.”

“Well, I have been supporting a limit on late-term abortions for — since 2015,” Graham told Bash during the interview. “I had a bill to limit abortions at 20 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother. Seventy percent of Americans support limiting abortion when the — when the unborn child can feel pain. Fifty of 53 European nations limit abortion at 15 weeks or less.”

“But my question is, is it a federal issue or a state…” Bash interjected, but Graham kept talking over her.

“At 15 weeks, you have a developed heart and lungs,” the senator claimed. “And to dismember a child at 15 weeks is a painful experience. It’s barbaric. It’s out of line with the rest of the civilized world. Only North Korea and China allow abortion demand up to the moment of birth, except the Democratic Party. What the Democratic Party proposes on abortion is barbaric. Abortion up to the moment of birth, taxpayer-funded.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) disagrees with Graham’s assertion that a 15-week fetus can feel pain. ACOG wrote that “science conclusively establishes that a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24–25 weeks” and added that the “evidence shows that the neural circuitry necessary to distinguish touch from painful touch does not, in fact, develop until late in the third trimester.”

Further, Graham’s allegations that “the rest of the civilized world” bars abortions after 15 weeks is very misleading, as many European nations have broad allowances for exceptions, including socioeconomic circumstances. Abortion in many other nations is also subsidized by the government. And his claims about late-term abortions are highly exaggerated. Further, states with Democratic leadership — including Illinois and New York — have imposed limits on abortion after the point of viability, usually around 24 weeks.

But when Bash pointed out to Graham, “Just for the record, Roe went up to viability,” the senator exploded.

“No, that’s no, no, no! Quit covering for these guys. No, no, no! You’re — media, you keep covering for these guys. They introduced legislation that allowed abortion on demand with taxpayer-funded — you paying for it, the taxpayer, up to the moment of birth. That was their position in Washington. That’s the law they want to pass. And nobody in your business will talk about it.”

“Senator, I’m not covering for anybody. And you know that,” Bash fired back. “And when I have Democrats on — and I have had Democrats on — I have asked… all of them about their position where they believe this issue should be… My question for you, sir, is about President Trump, who you have endorsed to be president again. Is he right in saying that this issue should be a states’ issue?”

“He said yesterday, I think, at a speech in Iowa that he opposes late-term abortion,” Graham responded. “Here’s what I believe, that anybody running for president who has a snowball’s chance in hell in the 2024 primary is going to be with me, the American people, and all of Europe saying late-term abortions should be off the table. Seventy percent of the people oppose late-term abortions. I am confident, over time, that’s where our nominee will be. I am confident that no Democrat will answer the question of, when do you draw a line? They never get challenged. I welcome this debate.”

Of course, Graham is lying. A number of Democrats have indicated they believe in some regulation around abortion. Graham is also using the specter of late-term abortions — a procedure that is exceedingly rare and often sought due to extreme fetal abnormalities or the life of the parent — to polarize people on the issue, a common conservative tactic.

Proving Graham wrong in his claim that Bash never presses Democrats on the issue of abortion, the host interviewed Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar later in the show and asked for her to respond to Graham.

“I think Senator Graham knows where the American people are on this,” Klobuchar said. “They are with Democratic leaders. And the people of this country believe that the women of this country should be able to make their own decisions about their health care, and not politicians. And they don’t want Ted Cruz in the waiting room.”

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