While it’s unlikely to pass the Senate and reach President Obama’s desk, Republicans say they are playing a long game. […] They hope that, over time, support for prohibiting most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy will become widespread. […] "I think this is likely to get a challenge in the court, and I think it's likely to prevail," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chairman of the Pro-Life Caucus, said in an interview. Legislation banning abortions after 20 weeks has already been blocked by the Supreme Court in three states, but similar laws remain on the books in 11 others. Republicans are also laying down a marker for the 2016 elections, when they hope to win control of Congress and the White House. "I think there's an awakening happening," Smith added. "All the Republican candidates have signaled support on this."

Remember the first big blow-up in the House Republican conference of the year? That was when Republican congresswomen "revolted" over a post-20 week abortion-ban bill because the rape and incest exemption in it required that the victim had reported the attack to the authorities to make sure it was "real" rape or incest. Even Republicans recognized that that kind of looked like they would be perpetuating their war on women, so the bill got tabled. And while they dealt with that definition of rape problem, they still have another one—the incest exemption to get an abortion expires when you turn 18. Republicans don't really see that as a problem,, so they're running with it Ah, an "awakening." As if Republican presidential primary candidates are going to veer off script on abortion. But the awful reality is that they have been succeeding on this in the states. Similar bans exist in 11 states, and in only one has been struck down by the courts. It's a difficult law to challenge since abortions after 20-weeks are rare, and sadly, abortion providers who will do the procedure at that point are even rarer. But that's not going to keep Republicans from chipping away at abortion rights, and chipping away at their potential to get any support in 2016 from the majority of women.