With House Passage of Extreme 20-Week Abortion Ban, GOP Continues Assault on Reproductive Rights

Republicans continue to seek the erosion of reproductive rights with a series of measures at the federal and state level. Last week the Republican-controlled House approved a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks. The vote came months after Republicans were forced to withdraw their initial version following dissent from women in their own party. The new revised measure drops a requirement that rape and incest survivors who seek an exemption must first report to police. But it instead imposes a mandatory waiting period for such women of at least 48 hours before they can have an abortion. The so-called Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is based on the medically debunked contention that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Its passage in the House is seen as largely symbolic, with Senate Democrats opposed and a previous veto threat from President Obama. But it shows Republicans remain determined to advance an anti-choice agenda on the national level as they do so in the states. According to The New York Times, 11 states have passed at least 37 new anti-abortion laws in the first five months of this year. We are joined by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.