Sep 15, 2022 2 min read

Proposed federal abortion ban is cruel

When the U.S. Supreme Court nullified a constitutional right to early pregnancy abortions, returning the matter to the states, many scoffed at the notion that a federal ban would ensue.

It did not take long, though, for such an effort to materialize. In an effort to amplify the Supreme Court’s disregard of long-standing precedent and where the nation stands on the issue, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has proposed a federal law which would ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The measure will go nowhere so long as Democrats control Congress and have a president in the White House, but it is a roadmap of the dangerous path upon which the nation would embark if and when Republicans seize power.

The GOP has consistently been the party which promotes getting government out of the way. Today, it seeks to get it in the way by limiting or eviscerating hard-fought rights and liberties that are hallmarks of our country.

Graham said, “We won’t know where America is until we vote.” He is dead wrong, as demonstrated by every poll that I have seen. A significant majority of the American people support abortion rights under some circumstances, most notably in instances in which the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy or if it resulted from rape or incest.

Graham’s timing is impeccable: less than two months before an election which has energized Democrats and Independents who are deeply concerned about a federal government which overreaches. May his cruel proposal backfire.

Oren Spiegler

Peters Township