Liars

You can enter the fact-free zone above and watch Lindsey Graham explain his proposed abortion ban bill, as well as listen to comments from a group of anti-abortion activists standing behind him.

I noticed at least five lies/misleading statements in what they had to say, but I'm sure there are more. Here are the five ...

1) Graham says he chose 15 weeks as a cut-off point for the ban because that is when scientists say a fetus can feel "excruciating" pain. This is a lie. For details, read this Live Science article, Do Fetuses Feel Pain? What the Science Says, but here's a quote ...

[T]he American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said it considers the case to be closed as to whether a fetus can feel pain at that stage [20 weeks] in development. "The science shows that based on gestational age, the fetus is not capable of feeling pain until the third trimester," said Kate Connors, a spokesperson for ACOG. The third trimester begins at about 27 weeks of pregnancy.

2) Graham says that the proposed Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 would allow people to get abortions "on demand" up until the day of birth. Actually, like Roe v Wade, the Women’s Health Protection Act allows for abortion no later than the point of fetal viability, about 24 weeks, unless the mother's life or health is in danger (see Section 3: permitted services)..

3) Graham calls his bill the "Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act", but what he doesn't spell out is that his bill would operate exactly like the Women’s Health Protection Act in that it would allow for "late-term" abortions if the life of the mother is in danger.

4) Graham has failed to mention that his bill would leave in place laws in states that are more restrictive, like a ban from the time of conception, or a ban with no exceptions (GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham proposes nationwide 15-week abortion ban). So this bill is not as "reasonable" as Graham says.

5) The anti-abortion activists who speak after Graham made my skin crawl - they seemed completely untethered to reality. They stating that 90% of Americans want this bill. They parroted the lie that the Democrats want abortion up to birth, lied about fetal pain, lied about doctors being forced to perform abortions, and on and on and on. They were creepy.

How stupid are Republican voters? Don't they realize that their politicians and their pundits and their activists are lying to them? It's not hard to fact check this stuff. Maybe they just don't care.