House Votes to Pass So-Called “Fetal Pain” 20 Week Federal Ban/Care2
The good news is that the senate probably won't pass it and even if it does Obama will veto it. Read the full article for those details.
http://www.care2.com/causes/house-votes-to-pass-so-called-fetal-pain-20-week-federal-ban.html
In a 242-184 vote, the Congressional House voted in favor of an abortion ban that would essentially eliminate almost all abortions in the country after 20 week post-fertilization (or 22 weeks gestation, as pregnancy is typically dated), citing a generally medically unsupported claim that a fetus will experience “extreme” pain during a termination. The vote, which had been championed by abortion opponents who increased pressure on the politicians after a failed attempt to introduce the ban in January, fell mostly down party lines, with just four Democrats and four Republicans switching sides and one Georgia Representative voting “present” according to The Hill.
The next move would be a Senate vote, which anti-abortion activists are eagerly awaiting. In exchange for their support in a tight 2014 Senate race, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised the anti-abortion faction at the annual Right to Life conference that if he was reelected and the Republican party took the Senate, he would ensure that a vote on the bill would occur.
Not every Republican in the Senate may be excited about that prospect. There are a number of sitting senators who will be facing challenging races in November 2016, and will already be concerned about the usual turnout advantages Democrats tend to have during a presidential year election. Senators such as New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte or Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson may not want to be burdened with a vote on the record that could become a campaign issue. Voting in favor of the 20 week ban will put them at odds with their far more progressive state voters, who don’t believe in legislation written solely to provoke a constitutional challenge or that refuses to allow adequate protections for people impregnated via sexual assault, or that will force people with fetuses that have been found to have massive genetic defects to term and give birth against their will. Voting against the ban would lose the massive financial and grassroots support that comes from being backed by socially conservative groups and PACs.
In fact, for House members who have tightly gerrymandered districts, a vote is the best thing to occur heading into the 2016 election cycle. For many Senate members, a vote on the bill could haunt them, and potentially lose them their next race. While the GOP does hold a majority in the Senate, the question will be whether there are 60 senators willing to take the risk to let a vote come to the floor.
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