House Republicans' Late-Term Abortion Debacle
Dan covered the basics of last night's collapse, which (a) dealt a humiliating procedural black eye to the historically large House Republican majority, and (b) stirred angry howls of betrayal from pro-lifers who worked hard to elect said majority. Worse still, the two female members whose objections to language in a bill banning most abortions after five months of pregnancy were both elected as pro-life candidates.
By scuttling the vote at the eleventh hour, they managed to hand the Left and their heavily pro-choice media pals a handy narrative about Republicans being too extreme even for the women in their own party. Quite a feat. The chamber instead easily passed a less controversial anti-abortion measure, with many members vowing to resurrect the '20 week' legislation as soon as possible. Press reports suggest that dissension among certain elements of the GOP caucus stemmed from concerns about the verbiage dealing with the rape exception in the proposed law, with other representatives getting cold feet about alienating female voters.
On the first point, it is hugely embarrassing that Republicans couldn't iron out these differences and strike an acceptable compromise privately. Instead, leadership was sandbagged by a public fight. Also, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers -- one of the ringleaders of the group that forced the bill off the agenda this week -- vocally supported a virtually identical measure in 2013. Hmm...Also read:
Why Everyone Should Be Terrified By The GOP's Abortion Bill Debacle
If The GOP Can't Pass A Late-Term Abortion Ban, What Can It Do?
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