Sen. Graham’s proposed federal abortion ban would still allow for stricter bans like Tennessee’s

The federal abortion restrictions proposed this week by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham would still allow Tennessee’s all-out ban to be enforced. The 15-week restriction would just be the starting point.

Graham’s legislation describes “federal minimum protections for pain-capable unborn children” and would not interfere with stricter abortion bans in states like Tennessee. But it would ultimately limit abortion access for Tennesseans. Right now, residents needing to end a pregnancy are having to travel out of state — often to Illinois or Virginia — where abortions are still allowed well beyond 15 weeks. Graham’s proposal would shrink the window for an out-of-state abortion.

But the legislation is mostly a political talking point, at the moment, since the measure is unlikely to be taken up unless the majorities flip in Congress. Even Graham acknowledged the long odds, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also cast doubt on the legislation’s chances.

Tennessee’s Republican senators were slow to weigh in on the 15-week federal ban. Many GOP lawmakers, even from states with strict abortion bans, have withheld their support from Sen. Graham’s proposal, saying abortion should be entirely left up to the states.

“There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told POLITICO. “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.”