Could a National Abortion Ban Save Republicans?

With the midterm elections a few weeks away, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, forwarded a plan to save his party from the growing backlash over abortion.

But the proposal — a federal ban on almost all terminations after 15 weeks — has served mostly to expose the division among Republicans about the issue.

Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

• Mr. Graham’s effort has reignited debate on an issue that Republicans have worked to confront before midterm elections in which abortion rights have become a potent issue.
• The rejection of Mr. Graham’s bill was the latest misfire in the party’s struggle to unite behind a clear strategy.

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