The House Republican leaders thought a vote on a proposed ban on abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy would be a slam dunk. The issue plays squarely to the party’s voter base, and seemingly no one in their conference would object.
A similar version of the bill easily passed the House two years ago, adding to expectations the measure would have a smooth ride again.
But leadership didn’t foresee a rebellion that would erupt over a small but key provision inserted into the measure that limited exemptions for victims of rape or incest to only those who had previously reported those incidents to authorities.
Several Republicans, particularly women, opposed the provision, saying it would put unfair pressure on women who often feel shame or fear retaliation if they report those assaults.
“When we come off as harsh and judgmental, we stop that conversation and we’ve got to learn to be doing a better job,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., who started the rebellion against the measure.
RELATED STORY: Renee Ellmers explains stance against abortion bill
Leadership had hoped to vote and pass the measure on Thursday, the same day as the annual March for Life in Washington attended by thousands of anti-abortion activists, as well as the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
RELATED STORY: On day of D.C. ‘March for Life,’ abortion bill fractures House GOP
But when they couldn’t reach a compromise in time, they pulled the bill and replaced it with legislation that would block abortion coverage from plans offered on healthcare.gov. The substitute passed Thursday along partisan lines.
“It’s unfortunate the way it played out,” Ellmers said. “I think we’re all just going through some growing pains.”
House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said leaders made the decision after meeting “really, all day” with rank-and-file lawmakers.
The situation gave Democrats, who staunchly opposed the 20-week ban, an unexpected political gift, as they all but ridiculed the GOP’s problem.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said Republicans suffered “a meltdown.”
Democratic allies also exploited the division in the House GOP. Planned Parenthood said it was “encouraging that some politicians are starting to recognize that it is a political vulnerability to attack women’s access to abortion.”
But the scenario also put Democrats in a somewhat awkward position. Privately they were happy with Ellmers’ push to make the 20-week abortion ban more moderate. But acknowledging such a position would be politically risky, so they continue to publicly attack Republicans for their “extreme” positions on abortion.
“Time and again, the American people have soundly rejected extreme Republican efforts to insert themselves into health care decisions best left to women, their family, and their doctors,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., hours before Thursday’s vote.
Wasserman Schultz, who serves as Democratic National Committee chairman, said it was a “with a perverse sense of cruelty” that House GOP leaders would pick the anniversary of Roe v. Wade as the day to hold a vote on the substitute measure, which passed 242-179.
Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., accused House GOP leadership of wasting time on a divisive argument about “whether the government should jeopardize a women’s access to medical necessary procedures.
“Politicians are not medical experts and we should not deny a woman the ability to make her own decisions with those she trusts the most,” he said.
But Republicans said their substitute bill was anything but radical, saying it was just one of many steps they intend to take to push back at abortions.
“However stark Americans’ differences of opinion can be on the matter of abortion generally, there has been long, bipartisan agreement that federal taxpayer funds should not be used to destroy innocent life,” said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. This bill “is probably the most bipartisan pro-life proposal, sustained over a longer period of time, than any other.”
Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., said the measure was “commonsense, compassionate legislation will protect Americans’ conscience rights by ensuring their hard-earned tax dollars are not used to fund the destruction of innocent life.”
Republican leaders have said they expect to revisit the measure later this year, hoping that the initial time will help them work out their party differences.
The House approved a similar version of the bill in 2013, but the measure was never considered in the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats.
