Abortion Activists Mobilize Against Stupak-Pitts

Only 0.2% of his bills have become law

(NEWSER) - Ron Paul has sponsored 620 measures in his 11-and-a-half terms in Congress, but only one of them has become a law—a bill allowing the sale of a Galveston customhouse to a historical society. That tells you much of what you need to know about Paul’s congressional record, which according to the Washington Post “stands out for its futility.” Of the 47 bills Paul has proposed this year, 32 have failed to attract a single cosponsor. More»

Here's two: Let's vote on weekends and stop making pennies

(NEWSER) - Ezra Klein uses his Washington Post column to give a push to what he sees as logical bills languishing for lack of "partisan passion." Among his first No-Brainer Awards:

• Weekend voting: A bill from Rep. Steve Israel and outgoing Sen. Herb Kohl would end the outdated silliness of forcing people to vote on a Tuesday and make Election Day the first full weekend of November. "Two days when most Americans don’t have to work, drop their kids off at school or rush home to prepare dinner."

Women also have to go to anti-abortion counseling centers

(NEWSER) - Women who want to get an abortion in South Dakota must now wait a full three days after meeting with a doctor under a measure signed into law today by Gov. Dennis Daugaard, the AP reports. It's the longest such waiting period in the nation. The law also requires that women undergo counseling at anti-abortion help centers, which is another first, notes the Christian Science Monitor . More»

Three GOP-backed bills threaten abortion access

(NEWSER) - The GOP and its barrage of abortion-linked bills are a menace to women's health, says an incensed Nancy Pelosi, who calls the "extreme legislation" the "the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health in our lifetime." And she worries that women aren't fired up enough about the possibility that their access to abortion will be cut, the Huffington Post reports. One bill, HR 3, would cut tax credits and benefits of employers who offer health insurance that covers abortion access. HR 217 would cut family-planning funds to organizations offering abortion access, crippling groups like Planned Parenthood. More»

The 'No Tax-Payer Funding for Abortion Act' gets HR3 stamp

(NEWSER) - House Republicans unveiled their next major legislative push yesterday: the No Tax-Payer Funding for Abortion Act, which, as its name implies, would ban federal funding of abortion. It would essentially make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which does the same thing but must be renewed each year. They introduced that legislation alongside the Protect Act, which would specifically ban abortion funding under the health care reform law. More»