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Members of a U.S. House committee approved a congressional bill that would ban abortions nationwide at 20 weeks of pregnancy. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, chaired by bill author Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican, held a markup on H.R. 1797. During the committee meeting, Franks amended his bill, the “D.C. Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” (H.R. 1797) to apply nationwide. With this change, the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” will be a national prohibition on abortions of unborn children who can feel pain during the abortion process. After the amendment was approved,...

Washington (CNN)Mark it down as a rare win for House GOP moderates. After scrambling into the evening on Wednesday, House Republican leaders decided to scrap a vote on a controversial anti-abortion measure scheduled to coincide with an annual gathering of anti-abortion advocates on Thursday because they couldn't round up enough support.

One of the members of the U.S. Senate who says he is pro-life on abortion has not yet co-sponsored the most important piece of legislation in the Senate that would ban abortions after 20 weeks based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain. That’s the question the Susan B. Anthony List wants to get answered. joemanchinTo put pressure on Manchin to support the bill, the SBA List today informed LifeNews of a $20,000 radio ad buy encouraging Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to become the first Democratic senator to cosponsor the federal Pain Capable Unborn Child Act. The...

A group of Democrats are hoping to regain ground in their national fight for abortion rights with a bill that makes it illegal for states to “chip away at women’s reproductive rights.” The group, led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), said they will introduce their “historic pro-choice bill” on Wednesday. The bill directly targets harsh laws recently passed in Texas and Wisconsin, which are now facing court challenges. “The protections in this measure are more necessary now than ever before in our history because an avalanche of restrictive, reprehensible state laws is drastically reducing fundamental...

Wendy Davis said Tuesday that she would have supported a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, if the law adequately deferred to a woman and her doctor. Davis, a Fort Worth senator and the likely Democratic nominee for governor, told The Dallas Morning News’ editorial board that less than one-half of 1 percent of Texas abortions occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Most of those were in cases where fetal abnormalities were evident or there were grave risks to the health of the woman. “I would line up with most people in Texas who would prefer that that’s...

Pro-lifers already assembling in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life which mourns the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand, are also planning protests at the offices a Rep. Renee Ellmers as well as Senator Mitch McConnell. This morning, Rev. Pat Mahoney led pro-lifers in prayer at outside offices of newly elected Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell. “What a powerful witness it would be for Majority Leader McConnell to see hundreds of people kneeling in prayer outside of his office on the Roe v. Wade Memorial.” Rev. Mahoney said ahead of the event. Rev....

House Republican leaders abruptly dropped plans late Wednesday to vote on an anti-abortion bill amid a revolt by female GOP lawmakers concerned that the legislation's restrictive language would once again spoil the party's chances of broadening its appeal to women and younger voters. In recent days, as many as two dozen Republicans had raised concerns with the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" that would ban abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy. Sponsors said that exceptions would be allowed for a woman who is raped, but she could only get the abortion after reporting the rape to law...

Legislation to stop abortions after the point at which the unborn child can feel pain was introduced in the Minnesota Senate today. The measure would prohibit the killing of innocent unborn children at 20 weeks from conception. “For far too long, Minnesota’s abortionists have been inflicting unconscionable suffering on unborn babies by killing them when they are already extraordinarily developed and pain-sensitive,” explained Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). “It is illegal to treat animals in such a brutal way; this bill will finally protect unborn children at 20 weeks and older from the torturous...

Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who describes himself as pro-life and campaigned as a pro-life candidate, has vetoed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. West Virginians for Life, the statewide pro-life group, tells LifeNews it is disappointed in Governor Tomblin’s veto of HB 4588, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Similar bills have been passed in ten other states and Governor Tomblin is the only governor who has vetoed one of these bills. fetalpain2In his veto message, the Governor claimed that attorneys advised him the bill was unconstitutional. Many cite an Arizona law as proof,...

Pro-life leaders are expressing their fury toward Rep. Renée Ellmers (R-NC) for seeking to delay what has been expected to be a relatively easy passage next week of a House bill that would restrict abortions to 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence that unborn babies experience pain at 20 weeks of gestation. According to the National Journal, Ellmers is leading a group of moderate Republican congresswomen who appear to have concerns about the political ramifications of the bill – which is to be voted on next week on the 42nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision – because it...

The House today approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department. The legislation combines several policies that must be enacted every year in Congressional battles and puts them into law where they will not be in jeopardy of being overturned every time Congress changes hands from pro-life lawmakers to those who support abortions. The House voted 242-179 for the bill with 239 Republicans and three Democrats voting to ban taxpayer funding of abortions under HR7 while 178 Democrats and...

Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court legalizing abortion on demand throughout pregnancy. The pro-life movement commemorates this day with marches, worship services and lobbying for bills to protect unborn children. Pro-lifers were promised by the Republican leaders they just helped elect and re-elect that the House of Representatives would pass a bill today banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a point after which infants can feel pain and survive if born prematurely. The legislation has been passed by the House in the previous Congress and is extremely popular in national polling. “One of the clearest...

UPDATE: After the announcement (below) of the ad campaign against him, Manchin has indicated he will support the legislation. As John McCormack of the Weekly Standard reports: On Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin became the first Democrat in the United States Senate to support a federal bill that would ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. “If it comes to the floor, I’m voting for it,” Manchin told THE WEEKLY STANDARD following the Senate Democrats’ weekly luncheon. Manchin also declined to say whether or not he would take the additional step of cosponsoring the federal late-term...

From Politico this morning, in an article entitled, “GOP hopes it’s cracked the abortion code: Republicans unite around a push to ban the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy”: … GOP leaders plan to vote on a federal 20-week abortion ban on Jan. 22. That’s the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and falls on the same day as the March for Life…. In the House, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) opted to tie the upcoming vote to the March for Life event after meeting with leading anti-abortion groups and Republicans who have long been vocal opponents of abortion. McCarthy...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Demonstrations are planned outside the West Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday in opposition to a House bill that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks. West Virginia Freedom for Reproduction Education and Equality (WV Free) and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia are conducting the rally that begins at noon, according to an advisory from the organizers. The groups said they are protesting House Bill 2153. Organizers of the event said the 20-week abortion ban is a ” more extreme version of a similar bill passed last year by both chambers that was vetoed by Governor...

A handful of “pro-life” lawmakers have sabotaged a vote House Republican leaders planned for today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain in abortions. As LifeNews reported yesterday, Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina along with Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Jackie Walorski of Indiana — each of whom have pro-life voting records — objected to a vote on the bill on the grounds that the language in the bill did not do enough to allow women who have been victimized by rape to have abortions. Together, they reportedly...

Pro-life members of Congress today introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that bans abortions from after 20-weeks of pregnancy up to the day of birth. With Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, there is a guarantee that the important pro-life legislation will finally receive a vote in both chambers of Congress. In 2013, the House approved the bill on a 228-196 vote with 6 Democrats voting for the bill and 6 Republicans voting against it. President Barack Obama has issued a veto threat against that bill and Senate Democrats refused to bring it up for a vote. Congressman...

A group of Republican women is trying to pressure GOP leadership to make changes to a 20-week abortion ban the House is set to vote on next week. Led by Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, the female GOP lawmakers are protesting language in the legislation that requires rape victims to report their assault to police to qualify for an exemption under the law. The legislation would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a measure that Republicans argue is broadly popular with Americans and offers a common-sense way to limit abortion rights. The legislation was introduced by Tennessee Rep....

As pro-life members of Congress gathered at the Susan B. Anthony reception last night on the eve of the March For Life, they were faced with the implosion of their legislation attempting to ban abortions after 20 weeks of a pregnancy. That put many of them in an awkward situation as prominent pro-life leaders came to town for a number of events in Washington D.C. The legislation was scheduled to pass the House of Representatives in time for members to trumpet the pro-life victory as the product of a Republican congress with an expanded majority at the March for Life....

A note to House Republicans: Today is the 42nd anniversary of the decision in Roe v. Wade. I never need reminding of which anniversary it is — it ’s always the same as my age. I was one of those who entered the world through a pregnancy of the sort we call “unplanned,” though as a Hayekian type I do not object to being the “result of human action, but not the execution of any human design.” I was born about three months — call it a “trimester” — before Roe. In my case, the result was an adoption. Mine...