US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina Tuesday introduced the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act. If enacted, the act would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy at the federal level.
Under the proposed legislation, physicians would be required to perform any medical examinations and tests that a reasonable and prudent physician would carry out to determine the gestational age of a fetus. If the fetus’ gestational age is 15 weeks or more, the physician would then be prohibited from carrying out an abortion.
The proposed legislation follows the US Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The landmark case overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, finding there is no constitutional right to abortion in the US.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi criticized Graham’s proposed legislation, stating, “[t]he nationwide abortion ban proposal put forth today is the latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans intent to criminalize women’s health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care.”
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