Week ahead: Abortion fight resumes in House

The abortion battle returns to the House with Republicans slated to call a vote on a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The bill was shelved in January after an intraparty dispute, with a small core of centrist lawmakers arguing it would force rape victims to report to police. Several of these lawmakers also warned the vote could turn women away from the GOP.

Republicans announced the vote one day after a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine finding that some premature babies can survive at 22 weeks.

{mosads}“Science tells us that, after twenty weeks, babies can feel pain and are increasingly able to live outside the womb,” Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), one of the bill’s leading sponsors, wrote in a release, citing the study.

The previous version of the legislation allowed an exemption for late-term abortions in cases of rape, but only if the rape had been reported to police.

That provision has been stripped from the new bill, which will instead require doctors to ensure that women seeking abortions have received either medical treatment or licensed counseling at least 48 hours prior to the procedure.

The change seems to have assuaged the concerns of lawmakers who objected to the earlier bill, according to an aide for one such lawmaker.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on improving care for Medicare patients with chronic conditions. Dr. Patrick Conway, a top Medicare official, will testify.

On Monday, Enroll America, a major outside group signing people up for ObamaCare, will release the results of a survey of its enrollees. The survey looked at the information the uninsured need when signing up for coverage.

Recent stories:

– Karl Rove tells Republicans to put aside ObamaCare repeal: http://bit.ly/1EVnFFQ

– 17 million gained coverage under ObamaCare, study finds: http://bit.ly/1EilCJH

– Florida governor confronts HHS in ObamaCare fight: http://bit.ly/1KS04Ih

– The GOP’s new case against ObamaCare: http://bit.ly/1dSVlez

– Dems call for crackdown on insurers over birth control mandate: http://bit.ly/1EilI3W