News · Press Release

Extreme MAGA Republicans Start The Year By Trying To Restrict Abortion Care

NRCC Chair Richard Hudson: “Republicans don’t have a policy problem. We have a branding problem.”

Days before the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, extreme House Republicans continued their crusade to ban abortion nationwide, voting for two new anti-abortion bills endorsed by ideologically-driven organizations like the SBA List, which seeks to “end abortion,” and the National Right to Life.

Vulnerable House Republicans joined anti-abortion zealots like Speaker Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Greene to spread misinformation to vulnerable communities and university students, all in deference to their anti-abortion, anti-freedom agenda which is entirely out-of-touch with the values and beliefs of everyday Americans. 

DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton:
“House Republicans continue their quest to ban abortion nationwide at the urging of their party chief, Richard Hudson. Spoiler alert: extreme anti-abortion positions are both a branding and policy problem.”

Huff Post: Republican Lawmakers Push Forward 2 Anti-Abortion Bills
Alanna Vagianos | January 18, 2024

  • House Republicans approved a pair of anti-choice bills on Thursday — one day before the anti-abortion March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) is headlining, and just days before what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Both proposals are likely to die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

  • At first glance, both bills appear to help pregnant people and newborns. The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act purports to ensure certain rights and resources to pregnant students on college campuses, and the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act seeks to use federal funds toward pregnancy centers that support mothers and newborns.

  • In reality, both bills are full of anti-choice rhetoric and misinformation that Republicans have used time and time again to quietly roll back the rights of people with the capacity for pregnancy.

Axios: Roe anniversary reheats abortion wars
Victoria Knight | January 19, 2024

  • Roe v. Wade may be history but Monday’s anniversary of the 1973 decision is providing a potent rallying point for both sides in the abortion wars.

  • Driving the news: Amid a showdown over funding the government, House Republican leaders brought up a pair of symbolic bills they said would protect pregnant women’s rights but that Democrats contend would further erode abortion access.

  • They’re the first such measures under Speaker Mike Johnson and stand no chance in the Democrat-controlled Senate or with President Biden. And they served to elevate an issue that’s been toxic for the GOP in post-Roe elections and that Republicans in swing districts would just as soon avoid.

  • But the priority assigned to them signals that the GOP majority isn’t finished, and perhaps telegraphs a new legislative twist less focused on restrictions on the procedure.

  • The big picture: Roe’s anniversary also is serving as a rallying point in battleground states.

  • Democrats contend measures like the House bills are prelude to a nationwide abortion ban and wager the issue could fuel enough voter backlash to flip control of the House.

  • “Speaker Johnson and anti-choice extremists are pushing two more anti-abortion measures onto the House floor, continuing their march towards a total, national abortion ban,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said.

  • House conservatives are insisting on attaching to full-year spending bills anti-abortion riders, such as limits on the abortion pill mifepristone, that are nonstarters with Democrats.

The Hill: House GOP seeks political footing on abortion ahead of annual March for Life
Nathaniel Weixel | January 19, 2024

  • House Republican leaders are rallying around two anti-abortion bills ahead of the annual March for Life.

  • The bills, which passed the House Thursday, match the theme of this year’s event but also underscore the desire of GOP leaders to avoid votes on controversial messaging legislation that would impose strict abortion limits.

  • Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Pro-Life Caucus Chair Chris Smith (R-N.J.) are both set to address the March for Life on Friday, the largest anti-abortion event in the country. Johnson’s rise to Speaker was cheered by social conservatives, who viewed him as an ally willing to bring anti-abortion and anti-transgender policies up for a vote. 

  • Johnson is one of the most culturally conservative lawmakers to be elected Speaker in years, and he is unabashed in his faith-driven approach to politics.

  • Thursday’s bills are backed by anti-abortion groups and give Republicans an opportunity to tout their anti-abortion credentials without directly subjecting moderates to votes on abortion restrictions. The White House has threatened to veto both measures.

  • Democrats indicated they won’t let vulnerable Republicans off the hook, calling out both bills as examples of a GOP anti-abortion agenda.  

  • “House Republicans are constantly reminding voters of their crusade towards a nationwide abortion ban,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre said in a statement. “As long as House Republicans continue to go after women’s constitutional freedoms, House Democrats will be here fighting tooth and nail to protect our rights.” 

Bloomberg Law: House Republicans Grappling With Party’s 2024 Abortion Message
Maeve Sheehy | January 18, 2024

  • House Republicans are set to pass two bills promoting pregnancy this week as they work to avoid another abortion-related electoral setback in 2024.

  • Both parties know it’s a topic that could tip control of the House in 2024, after polls showed GOP gains in 2022 were limited due to voter anger over the abortion rollback.

  • The National Republican Congressional Committee is urging GOP candidates to publicly outline their positions on abortion as they head into 2024. This week’s bills and the anti-abortion March for Life could put vulnerable House Republicans on the spot as they work to distance themselves from ultra-conservative positions that tend to isolate women voters.

  • Democrats, however, have panned both bills as a “stunt” aimed at attracting anti-abortion voters.

  • “This is a focus on control,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said. “This is a focus on making women second-class citizens.”

  • Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said bills like those moving in the House show that Republicans are doubling down on extremism and trying to “dodge responsibility to the chaos and trauma they created” with the end to the federal right to abortion access and the resulting state bans.

  • “That’s not something Republicans can fix with spin or rebranding or by sticking their heads in the sand,” Murray said.

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