House GOP Abandons Abortion Bill Debate

House Republican leaders dropped plans to vote on a late-term abortion bill Wednesday, following pushback from female GOP lawmakers over language that limited exemptions to vicitims of rape and incest. The measure, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, bans abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy but only allows exceptions for a rape victim who reported the attack to law enforcement. A Justice Department report from 2013 revealed that just 35 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police. The House vote was supposed to coincide with the annual March for Life in Washington on Thursday, when thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators mark the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. But falling short of votes, the House will instead vote on legislation that bans taxpayer funding for abortion, which is already largely in effect.