WH Press Secretary Smacks Down Lindsey Graham's Abortion Ban With His Own Words

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday to dismiss legislation the senator introduced to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of a pregnancy.

The bill, called the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act,” marks Republicans’ next play on the hot-button issue after the Supreme Court ended federal abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade in June. Currently, 12 states have banned or heavily restricted abortion, with more expected to follow suit.

When a reporter asked Jean-Pierre about the legislation Tuesday, she cited his own remarks from just over a month ago.

“I’m going to quote Senator Lindsey Graham from Aug. 7, 2022,” the press secretary said. “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.”

Jean-Pierre also noted that Graham’s proposal would keep in place extreme state-level bans that ban all abortions with no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother.

Graham has introduced versions of the bill multiple times over the past decade, except with a longer 20-week limit. The legislation does contain exceptions for situations involving rape, incest and cases where the life of the mother is threatened.

Fifteen weeks is barely into the second trimester of a normal 40-week pregnancy, despite the bill’s title casting the legislation as “late-term” restriction on abortion.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...

• West Virginia Legislature Passes Near-Total Abortion Ban

• Republicans Introduce Bill To Ban Abortion Nationwide After 15 Weeks

• Biden Warns Of 'Really Difficult 2 Years' If GOP Wins House And Senate