WASHINGTON -- House Republicans on Wednesday abruptly dropped plans to debate a bill banning virtually all late-term abortions after objections from GOP women and other lawmakers left them short of votes.
The legislation, which had been scheduled for a vote today, would have criminalized virtually all abortions for pregnancies of 20 weeks or longer. It would offer some exceptions, including for victims of rape who had already reported the crime to authorities.
Some Republicans, including female members of Congress, objected to that requirement, saying many women feel too distressed to report rapes and should not be penalized. A 2013 Justice Department report calculated that just 35 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police.
"The issue becomes, we're questioning the woman's word," said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C. "We have to be compassionate to women when they're in a crisis situation."
There were also objections to the bill's exemption for youths who are victims of incest and have reported it.
"So the exception would apply to a 16-year-old but not a 19-year-old?" said Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pa. "I mean, incest is incest."
The divisiveness over the measure comes as Republicans, looking ahead to the 2016 presidential and congressional elections, hope to increase their support from women. In control of the entire Congress for the first time in eight years, Republicans also want to demonstrate that they can focus on issues that matter to voters and not get bogged down in gridlock.
"My own view on this stuff is I prefer we as a Republican conference avoid these very contentious social issues," Dent said.
Today's debate was planned to coincide with the annual march on Washington by abortion foes marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which disallowed many federal and state restrictions on abortion.
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a chief sponsor of the House bill, called it "a sincere effort" to protect women and "their unborn, pain-capable child from the atrocity of late-term abortion." He also said GOP leaders "want to try to create as much unity as we can."
The White House had threatened to veto the legislation, calling it "an assault on a woman's right to choose."
Democrats were strongly against the legislation and said the measure was nothing more than a political gesture.
"This is not only insulting to the women of this country, but it's just another pointless exercise in political posturing," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. "It will never become law."
The legislation also would have allowed an exception where an abortion is necessary to save the mother's life. Under the bill, those performing outlawed abortions could face fines or imprisonment of up to five years.
The GOP rift on the issue was discussed Wednesday at a private meeting of House Republicans, who by a large majority are anti-abortion.
After meeting repeatedly with female lawmakers and others who were unhappy with the measure, the Republicans decided late Wednesday to postpone the debate indefinitely.
Instead, the House will debate a bill banning taxpayer funding for abortion -- a prohibition that is already largely in effect.
A report this week by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office cited estimates by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that about 10,000 abortions in the U.S. are performed annually at 20 weeks into pregnancies or later.
The budget office estimated that if the original House bill became law, three-fourths of those abortions would end up occurring before the 20th week.
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. Prospects for such a bill also seem dim in the current GOP-controlled Senate, where anti-abortion sentiment is less strong than in the House.
Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner of The Associated Press.
A Section on 01/22/2015