Shy of votes, House GOP drops planned vote on abortion bill

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama is vowing to veto a Republican-backed bill that would ban abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, as well as a measure that would require a decision on pipeline construction within 12 months. The White House says the abortion bill is an "assault" on a woman's right to choice and "unacceptably restricts" health and reproductive rights. House consideration of the measure this week coincides with the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe versus Wade that legalized abortion. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama is vowing to veto a Republican-backed bill that would ban abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, as well as a measure that would require a decision on pipeline construction within 12 months. The White House says the abortion bill is an "assault" on a woman's right to choice and "unacceptably restricts" health and reproductive rights. House consideration of the measure this week coincides with the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe versus Wade that legalized abortion. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

By Associated Press January 22, 2015 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – With thousands of anti-abortion protesters in town, Republicans are ready to push legislation through the House designed to please them. But it’s not the bill an embarrassed GOP was hoping for.

Republican leaders had planned House passage Thursday of legislation criminalizing most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, an act that would have defied a White House veto threat. But late Wednesday they abruptly postponed that confrontation indefinitely after concluding they were short of votes.

Instead, the House will vote on legislation barring taxpayer funding of abortions – a prohibition that’s already largely in place. Republicans say the bill will tighten the restrictions and make sure no funds flow to abortions under President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The GOP reversal coincides with Thursday’s annual March for Life protesting the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision legalizing abortion. It also came with GOP leaders eager to showcase the ability by the new Republican-led Congress to govern efficiently and avoid gridlock.

“I don’t see it as a failure. I see it as a victory in the process for getting legislation right,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a sponsor of the postponed bill, said in an interview.