Declaring that "abortion-centered feminism is dead" and that abortion itself is "the ultimate offense" to equal rights, a prominent pro-life activist on Thursday said that a new push in Congress for a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks coincides with growing national support for the unborn,
CNS News reports.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, told journalists at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that any effort to expand opportunities for women should include "the youngest women who are waiting to be born."
Dannenfelser spoke in support of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, re-introduced by House Republicans in the new Congress, which has Republican majorities in both chambers for the first time in eight years.
House leaders are said to be planning a floor vote this month on the bill, which would limit abortions nationwide to 20 weeks after conception except in cases of rape and incest or to save the woman from life-threatening medical complications.
The House passed a similar measure in 2013, but Senate Democrats blocked further movement on the bill, which derives its name from the belief that the nervous system is developed enough at 20 weeks for a fetus to feel pain.
In advocating for the revived measure, Dannenfelser pointed to a Quinnipiac poll in November demonstrating 60 percent support for federal restrictions on abortion.
She also took aim at an exclusionary, pro-choice view of feminism that she said is embodied by Hillary Clinton, the undeclared but early front-runner for the Democratic 2016 presidential nomination.
"Hillary said it's not enough to be a woman; you have to be committed to expanding rights and opportunities for all women," said Dannenfelser, citing remarks Clinton made last year campaigning for Sen. Bruce Braley of Iowa — who lost to pro-life Republican Joni Ernst.
"I think we know what that means," Dannenfelser said of Clinton's stump speech. "If you’re not for abortion, you’re not really a woman worthy of running in the political arena."
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