Marco 'Big Gulp' Rubio is ready to introduce a draconian Texas-Syle anti-abortion bill in the Senate.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today agreed to be the lead sponsor of a Senate bill to ban abortion after an unborn child is 20 weeks old. A similar measure passed the House last month and a state version is now being debated in the Texas legislature, where it is likely to be approved.
With Rubio’s presence, the bill is certain to gain enormous media attention and thus more national visibility for the issue of limiting late term abortions. Right-to-life groups have urged Rubio to take the lead on the issue, believing he would be the strongest possible advocate in the Senate. Several sources confirmed he’d agreed.
You may ask yourself if Republicans care at all about the ladies. But Rubio is taking up this fight only because he's been getting his ass handed to him by his conservative crazy base over the immigration bill that he helped get passed in the Senate.
Rubio’s decision to play a major role in the abortion debate is bound to stir political speculation. He is viewed as a likely candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. But he’s recently prompted serious criticism by Republicans over his support for the immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last week. His front-and-center role on a key anti-abortion measure is likely to ease concerns about him among GOP voters.
Fred Barnes does a good job of framing his piece to whitewash conservative anger directed at Marco so that as soon Rubio puts his stamp of approval on the bill, all will be forgiven. Sorry chum, when the bill is being debated in the House all the crazies will again be driven mad by his behavior. You can bet that whenever a male con is scared, he'll start attacking women's right's to make him feel better. This is appalling and it's consistent with how the right-to-lifers operate. They view this as a long game and are very content with getting this belief into the public square.
The idea behind the anti-abortion bill is to ban abortion once the unborn child is viable – that is, able to survive – outside the womb. There is disagreement over when this occurs during a period of 20 to 24 weeks after fertilization.
At the very least, Republicans will benefit from having the Rubio-backed legislation take center stage, overshadowing controversial statements by Republican candidates in 2012 about rape and abortion.
How sick is to be believe that a fetus can feel pain after 20 weeks? Does anybody remember anything from before they were like three? And then came this fetal-porn observation by Michael Burgess:
Fetuses Masturbate So We Should Outlaw Abortion
This reveals that a man's right to jerk off is much more sacred than a women's right to control her own body in RepublicanLand.. How do these people get elected?
Digby writes: Laying the groundwork
Just as they spent years demagogueing "partial birth abortion" they anti-abortion fetishists are now laying the groundwork to form a "consensus" that abortion should be completely illegal after 20 weeks. And they're doing it in similar fashion, by lying about the science to increase the ick factor.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is planning to introduce a bill in the Senate that would ban abortion after 20 weeks, the Weekly Standard reported on Wednesday. The bill is meant to mirror anti-abortion legislation passed last month by the House of Representatives.
Under the plan reportedly being proposed by Rubio, a woman would be unable to get an abortion beyond 20 weeks gestation. And though the bill does include exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and if the life of the mother is at risk, it doesn’t appear to make exceptions if a woman’s health is at stake.
The foundation for this legislation is a scientifically disputed idea that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks. It is the same motivation that has driven such bans at the state level. Most recently, Texas has taken the national spotlight for its proposed 20-week ban, and eight other states have passed ‘fetal pain’ laws.
If Rubio really does move this bill forward, it would be more for the purposes of political showmanship than real policy-making. The bill doesn’t stand a chance of passing through the Democratically-controlled Senate. Additionally, there is a serious question about the constitutionality of a 20-week ban. Three of those eight states that have passed such bans had to put their laws on hold, since courts have contested their constitutionality.
To all those who think that just because their rights are secured today it means their rights are secured forever, think again. They won't pass this today. But the fact that they're even trying 40 years after Roe v. Wade should startle people out of their complacency.
And I agree with Digby, Melinda Hennenberger is a villager in good standing and also a moron.
