The Perverse, Potentially Lethal Consequences of Lindsey Graham’s Federal Abortion Ban

 

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham unveiled a bill that would impose a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy with a few very narrow exceptions. The senator, reversing his prior position that abortion should be left to the states, now seeks to override blue states’ more liberal laws by establishing a nationwide cutoff.

If enacted, Graham’s bill would criminalize abortion at the exact moment in pregnancy when dangerous fetal anomalies and maternal health problems come to light. It would force many patients with high-risk pregnancies and severe fetal defects to flee the United States in search of legal termination.

It would condemn countless sexual assault victims, including children, to bear their rapist’s child. In short, Graham’s measure would spread the tragic, potentially deadly consequences of red state abortion bans to the entire country.

Although Republicans have sought to cast a 15-week limit as the moderate alternative to an absolute prohibition, it actually federalizes some of the most extreme and unpopular aspects of state-level bans. Like those laws, the Graham bill allows abortions only when “necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman,” rejecting a broader exception for maternal health. It includes no exception for fetal anomalies, no matter how grave.

Unfortunately, many genetic and physical defects can only be detected after the 15th week of pregnancy. As The 19th reported in August, the earliest point when doctors can detect anomalies is between 15 and 22 weeks, when scans show fetal organ structures.

Certain abnormalities detected at this stage, like Trisomy 18 and anencephaly, render fetuses “incompatible with life,” meaning they will die during birth or shortly thereafter. At most, if carried to term, these children will live just for hours or days in immense pain. And continuing the pregnancy often puts the patient at heightened risk of medical complications.

The lack of an exception for fetal anomalies in Graham’s bill is intentional. For years, the anti-abortion movement has sought to outlaw abortions due to fetal “disability.” Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, at least nine states had passed these bans. Three states also gagged doctors from even raising the possibility of termination with patients after diagnosing fetal abnormalities.

These bans are largely irrelevant now that most of those states have passed laws outlawing abortion across the board. But conservative activists are fighting to ensure that federal legislation includes no carve-out for abnormalities. The anti-abortion Lozier Institute rejects the very concept of an anomaly that’s “incompatible with life,” arguing that patients should be forced to give birth if there’s a possibility that the child might live for minutes or hours. The institute argues that patients must undergo induced labor or a C-section—both of which are exponentially more dangerous than an abortion—so “a grieving family” can “show love and say good-bye.”

CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen and Danielle Herman recently reported a devastating story that illustrates the inhumane ramifications of the Graham approach. They profiled Kailee DeSpain, a Texas woman forced out of state to terminate her pregnancy. DeSpain and her husband desperately wanted to have a child.

After suffering three miscarriages, they were thrilled to learn that a seemingly healthy boy was on the way. But in the second trimester, the couple discovered that the fetus had a lethal anomaly called triploidy. This genetic disorder causes serious defects in the fetus’ heart, lungs, brain, and kidney, ensuring (at best) a brief, painful life outside the womb. Triploidy can also kill the patient in the third trimester.

Because of Texas’ draconian abortion ban, however, DeSpain could not terminate immediately. Instead, she drove ten hours to New Mexico to get the procedure at 19 weeks. If Graham’s bill becomes law, patients in her situation cannot flee the state—they will have to flee the country.

Formerly a “quintessential pro-life Texan,” DeSpain now vocally opposes the “heartbeat bill” that forced her to New Mexico for crucial health care. “I had to leave my baby with an out-of-state funeral home and have his ashes shipped home,” DeSpain wrote. “I’m still so angry and hurt about it that I can hardly see straight.” She added: “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the thought process of lawmakers that would rather a full-term baby suffocate to death than allow a mother to make a decision that spares her child that pain.”

Although triploidy can kill a patient, Texas doctors told DeSpain that they could not terminate until her death was “imminent.” This impediment reveals another flaw in Graham’s proposal: Like Texas’ heartbeat bill, its exception for “the mother’s life” is incredibly narrow. If Graham’s bill were to become law, abortion after 15 weeks would only be permissible when it’s “necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman” who is “endangered” by “a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury.” […]

Mark Joseph Stern, Slate

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/lindsey-graham-republicans-federal-abortion-ban.html