Republicans baffled by Lindsey Graham's abortion ban: 'There’s obviously a split of opinion'

Sen. Lindsey Graham's abortion ban legislation caught his fellow Republicans off guard.

The South Carolina Republican announced a bill barring abortion access after 15 weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, which has seemingly galvanized Democrats and women voters ahead of the midterm elections, and other GOP senators questioned the timing, reported Politico.

“I don’t think there’s an appetite for a national platform here," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). "My state, today, is working on this. I’m not sure what he’s thinking here. But I don’t think there will be a rallying around that concept. I don’t think there’s much of an appetite to go that direction.”

Graham had previously suggested a 20-week abortion ban that had drawn widespread Republican support and even some Democratic backing, but his newly proposed legislation would leave in place more restrictive limits passed by state legislatures and impose federal limits on states that have none -- and GOP senators distanced themselves from the announcement.

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“That wasn’t a conference decision," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). "It was an individual senator’s decision.”

“There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Cornyn added. “I would keep an open mind on this but my preference would be for those decisions to be made on a state by state basis.”

Republicans are hoping to take back the Senate majority in November, but they don't expect to get anywhere near the 60 votes they would need to pass Graham's legislation, which they worry might undercut their message heading into the midterms.

“What I want to do is have a discussion about the inflation numbers today and a number of other things that I think are going to have a consequence in the election,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who had previously supported Graham’s 20-week abortion ban.

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