House lawmakers considered yet another anti-abortion bill on Thursday, this one courtesy of Arizona Rep. Trent Franks—whose earlier works included a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy for anyone living in the District of Columbia. Since that bill drew fire from D.C. residents and never made it to the House floor for a vote, Franks went back to the drawing board and decided to expand the proposed ban to apply to everyone in the nation.
The new bill on Thursday went before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, which Franks chairs. And for anyone who’s followed the House of Representatives’ recent approach to women’s health, Thursday’s picture must have been a trip down memory lane.
Well this looks familiar: every lawmaker at the House hearing on the nationwide 20-week abortion ban is a man. twitter.com/LEBassett/stat…
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) May 23, 2013
Familiar, indeed!
Last year, a House hearing on President Obama’s birth control coverage mandate drew major flak for the nearly all-male panel of witnesses.
“These are the witnesses testifying on the birth control benefit right now on Capitol Hill. What is wrong with this picture?” wrote Planned Parenthood Action on its Facebook page. The post, which showed a picture of five male religious representatives, received more than 21,000 shares.
Franks bill proposes banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy across the United States, even in cases involving rape, incest, or danger to the health of the mother. The bill goes against Roe v. Wade’s national protection of abortion rights until viability is reached, usually at 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Franks told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks there’s a “good chance” the bill will see a full House vote this year, given the recent murder conviction of rogue abortion-provider Kermit Gosnell.
Emma Margolin
Emma Margolin is a reporter at MSNBC.com.