Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee on Sunday said he cannot support South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's federal 15-week abortion ban, arguing, according to The Hill, that the GOP has "been saying for nearly 50 years that this is not a federal issue."
Speaking to "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream, Lee states that while he has "immense respect" for Graham, he as well as many Republicans, fought long for the abortion issue to be left to the states.
"Now that Roe has been overturned correctly," the Utah senator says, "we can't suddenly make it a federal issue. The best way to save the most babies is to allow states, each state to protect babies in the way they deem most appropriate for their state."
Last month Graham introduced a bill for a roundabout national ban on abortions. The timing of Graham's announcement for the legislation led to some headaches within the GOP; subsequently, Democrats began marshaling a campaign on abortion rights following the Supreme Court decision to de facto overturn Roe V. Wade in June.
Only a handful of Republicans have supported Graham's legislation, while a majority have echoed the Utah senator's position that abortion should be a state issue.
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