Pro-life initiatives in Congress

Senate Republicans say they will put forward a bill that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks.  Meanwhile, the House is putting forward a bill that would ban funding to Planned Parenthood.

If these issues get attached to spending bills, they could shut down the government.  That tactic turned the general public against Republicans before.  But is it worth doing?  Congressional leaders are reportedly trying to get these measures through without shutting down the government.

From Abortion Bills Advance, Setting Up a Showdown – The New York Times:

Senate Republicans said on Thursday that they would take up legislation outlawing all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and the House voted to move forward with a bill that would end government financing for Planned Parenthood, intensifying a fight over abortion that threatened to paralyze budget talks and force a government shutdown at the end of the month.

Despite the Republicans’ push, which was a response to videos showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing the use of aborted fetuses in medical research, there were also signs that congressional leaders were counting on a fallback plan to keep the government functioning temporarily, roughly at last year’s spending levels.

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