Last week, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced proposed federal legislation that would criminalize any abortion in America after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In explaining his decision, Graham told reporters that he picked that number because “the science tells us…the nerve endings of the baby are pretty well developed and the child feels pain.”
In reality, there is no scientific consensus on when a fetus feels pain, but Graham’s explanation is telling. It is yet another example of how for Republicans, when it comes to abortion, the woman who is carrying a child is an afterthought. She is, in effect, the crunchy outer shell of a fetus.
The reality is that very few abortions in America occur after 15 weeks. More than 90 percent of terminated pregnancies occur before 13 weeks, more than 7 percent happen between 14 and 20 weeks, and just around 1 percent take place after 20 weeks. But what’s important to understand—and notably absent from Graham’s proposal—is a recognition that most post-15-week abortions occur with women and families who want nothing more in the world than to be parents.
