NARAL Reaction To The House GOP Abandoning 20-Week Abortion Ban Bill

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement in response to press reports that the House has abandoned efforts to pass a 20-week abortion ban this week:

“I never thought I would see the day that the Tea Party-led House of Representatives would wake up to the fact that their priorities—outright abortion bans—are way out of touch with the American people. The GOP drafted a bill so extreme and so out of touch with the voters that even their own membership could not support it.

“That being said, shifting from one bill to restrict a women’s ability to make her own health care choices to another will not solve this political problem for the GOP. Bringing up this new bill to restrict health care options for women and tax small businesses, like the 20-week ban bill, is a sad waste of the faith that voters put in the Republican Party to come up with new solutions to actual problems in 2015.

“Just weeks into their new majority, the GOP has forgetten who put them in office in the first place–Americans who need politicians to stop trying to make medical decisions for their families. If conservatives continue to prioritize banning access to abortion and other issues that most people consider personal business, they’ll continue to alienate women and young voters across the country.”

Earlier today NARAL Pro-Choice America put out polling from key congressional districts showing how toxic this issue is for Republicans.

The poll found:

-The overwhelming majority (66-75%) of voters support legal abortion.
-The majority of voters (56-61%) will be less likely to vote for the representative if they vote in favor of the 20-week abortion ban.
-Focusing on restricting abortion at 20 weeks does not reflect the priorities of the voters.
Full polling memo here.