The new Congress has more female lawmakers opposed to abortion than ever before, signaling a major boost for the anti-abortion movement, SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said Thursday.
Dannenfelser, whose group spent millions of dollars last year to help defeat Democrats supporting abortion rights, said the recent spate of GOP victories show that voters are increasingly opposing the controversial procedure and rejecting candidates who support keeping it legal.
“In 2014, it was made clear that abortion is dead as a weapon against pro-life candidates,” Dannenfelser said, citing tight races in Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado where anti-abortion Republicans defeated Democrats.
Next week, the House is expected to pass a ban on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy — legislation championed by SBA List that 13 states have passed in the last few years. Titled the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” it’s based on the idea that a fetus can feel pain at that point in its development.
President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation if it’s also passed by the Senate — and getting the veto-proof 60 votes to make the bill law would be a difficult challenge for anti-abortion advocates.
But Dannenfelser said she is looking ahead to 2016, when a Republican could win the presidency and potentially open the door to federal laws restricting abortion. Most of the potential GOP contenders have said they support the 20-week ban, she said. And she expects support from three contenders — Mitt Romney, Chris Christie and Scott Walker — who haven’t explicitly weighed in.
Another priority will be passing a federal bill that “ends taxpayer funding of abortion,” Dannenfelser said.
Many states have already banned federally subsidized Obamacare plans from offering abortion coverage. While insurers are required to keep those funds separate, and charge consumers an extra fee for that benefit, anti-abortion advocates say that protection doesn’t go far enough.
“The dynamic is set up in 2016 when the GOP is united around a very important, reasonable, pain-capable bill and ending taxpayer funding of abortion,” she said. “These have popular appeal.”
