GOP leader says 20 week abortion ban vote nears while pro-lifers continue 2nd protest plans at Speaker’s office

On May 7th pro-lifers vow to descend on Speaker John Boehner’s offices for a second time to demand the GOP vote on a late term abortion ban.

An interview with Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy posted at Roll Call says the GOP leader intends to bring up three measures Republicans pulled from the floor earlier this Congress: a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a border security bill that was pulled amid immigration concerns, and a No Child Left Behind rewrite that was put on hold during the Department of Homeland Security funding debacle.

That “abortion bill” is known as the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Sound Familiar?

It should. Republican leaders promised a vote on the bill back in January.

When the vote was sabotaged by Rep. Renee Ellmers, pro-lifers patiently waited for it to come up again.

By March 25th when no vote was announced, pro-life leaders, Pat Mahoney, Troy Newman, and Jill Stanek among others held a sit-in outside Speaker Boehner’s offices to demand the bill be brought up for a vote.

The group claimed that the Speaker and GOP leaders were delaying a vote on the bill and in a press release sent out April 2nd, the leaders announced eleven local and national pro-life groups had planned a second major demonstration for May 7th if, “by that time the U.S. House has not passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.”

According to LifeNews, “new language is still in the works and those responsible for crafting a second version of the bill are taking their time to ensure it’s done right and another blowup from Ellmers or other lawmakers is avoided.”

The pro-life news blog claimed that there is no purposeful delay in bringing the bill back to the floor.

But not all pro-life leaders are so sure and Stanek and the others say that the Roll Call story has not deterred their plans for a second protest if the ban has not been passed by May 7th.

A post on Jill Stanek’s Blog shows that they mean business:

As most know, House Republican leadership pulled the ban from a promised vote on January 22 after supposedly pro-life Republican women complained about the rape/incest reporting requirement.

After two months had passed with no word on a rescheduled vote, I was one of eight pro-lifers who were arrested at Speaker Boehner’s office in a protest on March 25 to draw attention to the bill and the babies it would protect.

The alliance of discontented pro-lifers has grown to 11 organizations now, which are planning another protest on May 7 at Speaker Boehner’s office if the 20-week abortion ban hasn’t been voted on by that date.

To reiterate, unless the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act has been passed in the House by May 7, we will be back.

To be continued…