Nancy Pelosi mocks GOP on abortion: 'There are those in the party that think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before'

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday mocked Republicans' stances on abortion.
• "There are those in the party who think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before," she said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday mocked the GOP's positions on abortion rights after Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced legislation that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy and many of his fellow Republicans dismissed the proposal.

"I think what you're seeing there is a conflict within the Republican Party. There are those in the party who think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before," Pelosi told reporters during her press conference when asked about Graham's bill and other Republicans' reactions.

Several Republican senators did not publicly embrace Graham's bill, which he unveiled on Tuesday, and instead tried to avoid speaking about it as abortion has become a top voter concern in this year's midterm elections and has galvanized Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday brushed aside the idea of federal legislation to restrict abortion.

"I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level," the top Republican told reporters.

Since the Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, tossing out nearly 50 years of constitutionally protected abortion rights, Democrats have injected abortion rights messaging into their midterms strategy. The momentum around the issue, along with a slate of recent party victories, including a massive climate and health package and $10,000 in student-debt cancelation, appear to have energized Democratic voters, driving fundraising and turnout to significant levels.

Democratic candidates outperformed expectations in recent special elections in New York and Alaska. And voters in the Republican-leaning state of Kansas rejected a constitutional amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion from the state's constitution.

"Women are not happy about this and they're making their views known. It's so unfortunate," Pelosi said in her press conference, adding: "We are united in our support for women's right to choose."