House Republicans are gearing up to reopen the fight on abortion limits–even if a new bill has no chance of passing.
Arizona Representative Trent Franks is introducing a new bill today that would prohibit women from having an abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy, an effort that is seen as one of the most restrictive pieces of abortion legislation to be voted on in the last decade, and one that would not get past Democrats in the Senate, or the White House.
The bill strengthens the party’s image in the eyes of its core base of social conservatives. But this move has also sparked a broader discussion about the G.O.P., and the future of the party and its relationship with women, among other things.
Molly Ball, political writer for The Atlantic and author of the recent piece, “Social Conservatives Still Control the G.O.P.,” weighs in on this legislation and it’s deeper meaning.