The bill, sponsored by Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Trent Franks, would exempt rape victims. House leaders sticking with abortion bill Some female Republican lawmakers say the 20-week ban’s exemption for rape victims is too narrow and could alienate young voters.

House Republican leadership is planning to move forward with a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks, despite opposition from female lawmakers who fear the legislation is too harsh and could turn off young voters.

The bill, sponsored by Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), would exempt rape victims from the abortion restrictions, but only if they report the attack to police — a clause multiple GOP staffers said could further discourage victims of sexual assault from seeking medical help. Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina has tried to get Republican leadership to change course.


But leadership has told Republican lawmakers that the bill will not be altered and will come up for a vote this week.

Ellmers and Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) removed their names from the bill on Tuesday. Ellmers is further whipping her female colleagues against the bill.

The House is set to vote on the legislation Thursday to coincide with the annual anti-abortion March for Life, an event that attracts thousands of activists to D.C. on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The disagreement between Republican women and the leadership is a setback for the party, which is trying to avoid internal conflict.

The House will probably still be able to pass the measure despite the opposition from Ellmers and Walorksi. The bill enjoys broad support among the GOP, though it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate and President Barack Obama would ?veto it if it passes.

“[T]he provision that requires rape and incest survivors to report the crime to a law enforcement agency or child welfare authority in order to have access to an abortion after the 20-week mark demonstrates a complete disregard for the women who experience sexual assault and the barriers they may face in reporting,” the White House said in a release Tuesday. “Research indicates that the majority of survivors have not reported their sexual assaults to law enforcement.”

The Justice Department estimates that only 32 percent of rape victims report their rapes to authorities.

The dissent within the Republican ranks comes less than a week after the party’s annual legislative retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. At that retreat, Ellmers stood up in a closed-session meeting to complain that the exemption too narrowly covers victims of sexual assault.

Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

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