Joseph Gerth

@Joe_Gerth

Mitch McConnell said he'll push through legislation limiting a woman's right to have an abortion

McConnell said President Barack Obama has been shielded by Majority Leader Harry Reid on the issue

Neither McConnell nor Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes talk about abortion in their stump speeches

McConnell said the passage of abortion legislation won't happen as long as Democrats control Senate

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said if he's elected the majority leader following November's election, he'll push through legislation limiting a woman's right to have an abortion.

Speaking Saturday to the National Right to Life Convention at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, the current Senate minority leader said President Barack Obama has been shielded by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., from having to deal with the issue of abortion.

And he said that if he had Reid's job, "we would have already had a vote" on a bill that would prohibit abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.

Abortion hasn't been much of an issue in the 2014 race for the U.S. Senate, as neither McConnell nor Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes talks about it in stump speeches.

They have focused instead on issues like the economy, the role of the Environmental Protection Agency, jobs and health care reform.

But there are clear differences between the two. McConnell supports legislation that would prohibit most abortions after 20 weeks as well as other efforts intended to limit the availability of abortions.

Grimes has said she believes the issue of abortion should not be dictated by government but should be a choice a woman makes with her doctor. She favors keeping the law as it is under Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the right to an abortion.

McConnell declined to talk with reporters at the event Saturday. His office didn't initially respond to a question about whether he would support legislation that would ban abortion, even if it banned it in the case of rape or incest or if the mother's life or health was in danger.

Addressing the convention, McConnell said the November election is important because it could help determine the fate of abortion laws in the country.

"In less than six months the American people will decide if Barack Obama spends the last two years of his presidency with the same Democratic-controlled Senate that he's had six years or if he will finally be forced to listen to the public on the cause that's brought us all here this morning," he said.

He also called for passage of legislation that would ban abortions based on the sex of the fetus but said that won't happen as long as Democrats control the Senate.

"That's because Harry Reid won't bring it up and the majority leader, whoever that person is, has the prerogative to schedule what we do," he told the group. "And I don't know about you, but the guy you're looking at might be the better scheduler."

Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702 or jgerth@courier-journal.com.

Online

To see more photos from Sen. McConnell's speech at the National Right To Life Convention and previous content on the Senate race, go to courier-journal.com/politics.