Without Votes, GOP Forced To Pull Anti-Abortion Bill For Being Too Extreme

House Republicans saw their extreme anti-abortion bill get pulled Wednesday night after congresswomen on both sides of the aisle refused to vote for it.

Even with a majority in the House and Senate, Republicans are slowly learning their pet projects may not get passed. Abortion sits near the bottom – number 33 by some counts – of a list Americans want Congress to focus on. Yet House Republican leaders have been trying to push through an anti-abortion bill so extreme congresswomen, even Republican congresswomen, balked at voting for it. 

A vote for the legislation was scheduled for Thursday, to coincide with the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and an annual anti-abortion rally held by National Right to Life, a group supported by Speaker John Boehner and many other Republicans.

The Washington Post calls it “implausible for Republicans to deny that they were doing the bidding of the antiabortion lobby. Douglas Johnson, legislative director at National Right to Life, told reporters in a conference call Wednesday that ‘this is a bill that is based on a National Right to Life model.'”

The action by the new Congress was a gift to the thousands of pro-life activists in town for Thursday’s annual march, which has become something of a trade show for the antiabortion industry. In the exhibit hall at March for Life headquarters at the Renaissance Hotel, there were “Honk 4 Life” bumper stickers, “Hair Bows 4 Life,” pro-life bank checks and jewelry, “Touch of Life fetal models,” aprons showing ovaries and a fetus, panda T-shirts saying “Save the Baby Humans,” “Pat the Gnat loves life” merchandise, T-shirts proclaiming “Let God Plan Parenthood” and books articulating “The Case Against Condoms.”

The anti-abortion bill, falsely named the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would ban abortions after 20 weeks, and even in cases of rape, unless the mother filed a police report. President Obama had threatened to veto it.

“The bill disregards women’s health and rights, the role doctors play in their patients’ health care decisions, and the Constitution,” the White House said. “The Administration is continuing its efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, expand access to contraception, support maternal and child health, and minimize the need for abortion. At the same time, the Administration is committed to the protection of women’s health and reproductive freedom and to supporting women and families in the choices they make.”

Contrary to what Republicans claim, the unborn do not feel pain at 20 weeks, according to reputable scientists.

The bill would have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, a fact the GOP ignored.

The bill is not dead – expect it to return, possibly with some tweaks.

 

Image via YouTube