From the Weekly Standard.
Excerpt:
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Friday afternoon that she will manage the floor debate on a bill that would prohibit most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. The bill has been revised to include exceptions for when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The bill already included an exception for when a physical health condition puts the life of the mother at risk.
“I think the reason that leadership asked me to handle the bill is the amount of pro-life work that I’ve done throughout my years in Congress,” said Blackburn, a co-sponsor of the bill.
[…]Blackburn said on Friday that Nancy Pelosi’s recent comments on late-term abortion were “absolutely abhorrent.” At a press conference, Pelosi was unable to explain the difference between the killings of Kermit Gosnell and late-term abortions and called the issue “sacred ground.”
“The war on women is these crimes committed by Kermit Gosnell and some of these abortion clinics,” Blackburn told me.
“I think the American people are with us on this,” Blackburn said. “Sixty percent of all Americans say abortion should not be allowed in the second trimester and over 80 percent say they shouldn’t be allowed in the third-trimester.”
The bill will be amended through a self-executing rule to include an exception for abortions later than 22 weeks of pregnancy (20 weeks after conception) in the case of rape or incest. Unlike the Democratic amendment for an exception in the case of rape that was voted down on Wednesday, there will be a reporting requirement in the bill.
Though the bill’s authors originally found such an exception unnecessary, given how late in pregnancy the restriction would begin, Democrats would have had an opportunity to force the issue to the forefront through a motion to re-commit.
The bill’s supporters believe the reporting requirement is necessary so the exception will not turn into a loophole.
My second favorite Congresswoman is Marsha Blackburn. And she’s going to be my most favorite as soon as Michele Bachmann retires at the end of her current term. I’m glad we have Marsha Blackburn to advocate for conservative policies.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
It’s a step in the right direction. Even though I would like to see a ban on all abortion, at least this bill has the potential to save many lives. However, I am disappointed that they would include a rape and incest clause. If human babies after 20 weeks cannot be murdered in the womb (as this bill would decide), then that should be final.
Children of rape aren’t any less of a person due to the circumstances of their conception. They shouldn’t die for the sins of their father. And if a woman is raped and wishes to abort, she is already able to do that before 20 weeks. Surely she would know by that point that she is pregnant. So why extend the deadline (pun intended) for some cases? What they are saying by allowing a rape/incest exception is that children conceived in rape/incest are less valuable than other people and thus can be rightfully killed. That is simply not true.
Also, if the woman’s life is threatened by the persistence of her child in the womb (an extremely rare occurence, by the way), then the child should be delivered as quickly as possible (i.e. through c-section) and given a chance to live – not purposely dismembered in the womb. Doing an abortion is actually more time-consuming and riskier to the mother’s life than an emergency c-section at this point (20 weeks and beyond). Thus, there is no reason for an exception allowing abortion for the sake of the mother’s life either in this bill.
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