Let’s just put this one on ice: Abortion is not going to be one of those issues where the White House and Congress are going to compromise.
President Obama will veto HouseĀ Resolution 36 if it ever gets to his desk.
Let’s hope it doesn’t get there.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/obama-threatens-to-veto-new-gop-abortion-bill-20150120
The bill, cobbled together by Republicans who themselves are split on this issue, would prohibit abortions 20 weeks after fertilization.
Yep. That’s it.
Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to choose whether to end a pregnancy. Or that most Americans favor granting women the opportunity to decide such matters. Thus, abortion remains legal. The rate of abortion also happens to be declining.
None of that matters. Republicans who control Congress say two things: They oppose government “interference” but they demand that government interfere in this most personal and intensely emotional decision possible.
The National Journal reports: “Republicans themselves are divided on the bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. At last week’s GOP retreat, Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., called on House leadership not to bring up the bill this week, saying that the caucus needs ‘to be smart about how we’re moving forward.'”
It’s not smart to approve a bill they know will get a veto and which will not be overridden. It’s also not smart to tell a woman that she must take a pregnancy to full term. That is her call to make — exclusively.
It really seems to be a shift toward the center for the GOP. First, metro-area members stalled their immigration bill; today, women cautioned against taking on abortion. They’re not liberal knockers, but maybe this Congress will get something done.