(Trends Wide) — US House Republicans are abandoning a years-long push by their party to pass a federal Abortion ban and are exploring other ways to advance their anti-abortion agenda, a notable shift that underscores how the GOP fights with a problem that has become a political mine for his party.

In interviews with dozens of Republicans, the vast majority – even among the staunchest opponents of abortion – rejected the idea of ​​Congress seeking a national ban, saying the leadership has no plans on the horizon for it to be a centerpiece of their agenda, despite passing federal restrictions on the procedure in previous years when they were in power.

Republicans say there’s a practical reason for their change in position: After Roe v. Wade was struck down last summer, argue that the issue of banning abortion is now better left to the states, a position that effectively, and perhaps conveniently, puts congressional Republicans on the sidelines of the national debate.

“You know, it works through a commission, the Supreme Court made that decision, it goes to the states, and the states will deal with that issue,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said at a conference in recent press when asked by Trends Wide if the House Republican Party will push any legislation on the matter.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership who previously voted to ban abortion, expressed a similar sentiment: “I’m proud of the votes I cast… but I don’t think it’s appropriate for us now that Roe has been struck down. do this from Washington City.”

Behind the scenes, Republicans acknowledge that the abortion ruling, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, hurt the GOP in the midterms and they worry a similar backlash in 2024 if they adopt a federal ban now that they are in power.

It’s a surprising pivot for a party that has spent the past five decades ingratiating itself with the religious right, vowing to use every lever of government to advance the cause against abortion. But it reflects a growing division in the movement itself, as advocates face a new chapter after Roe v. Wade, where states serve as testing laboratories for laws instead of Congress.

However, there is a political risk in letting states be in the driver’s seat. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law earlier this month and other states have banned the procedure altogether, while a legal fight unfolds in the courts over whether women should continue to have access to a pill. to abort in common use. This fuels fears that these developments could be a drag on the entire Republican ticket next year, regardless of how much congressional Republicans try to avoid questions on the matter.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina — who represents a swing district and has been outspoken about what she calls her party’s failure to send an effective message on abortion — argued that it’s not enough for Republicans to simply ignore the topic. Mace pushes for legislation to expand access to birth control and speed up the stockpiling of rape kits by law enforcement, in an effort to show voters that the GOP cares about protecting women’s health care. women. The GOP leadership is open to introducing legislation on the latter issue, according to Republican sources, if it can go through the committee process.

“You can be pro-life and you can be pro-woman. The two are not mutually exclusive,” Mace told reporters. “We will not win the popular vote in 2024 if we continue down this path of extremism.”

But not all Republicans agree. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the main sponsor of a 15-week national abortion ban, is calling on his colleagues to have the “courage” to adopt his legislation, exposing lingering divisions in the Republican Party over the hot topic

“I hope the Republican Party can muster the courage to oppose late-term abortion as we have in the past. My legislation is a good place to start,” he said in a statement. “As always, it includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. The Republican Party should be the party that values, appreciates, and protects life.”

“States are the center of gravity of all these debates”

When Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, they passed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, in 2012, 2015 and 2017.

After Roe was struck down last summer, the bill’s primary sponsor – Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey – said he planned to make the legislation even more restrictive by reducing it to 15 weeks. The idea drew support from leading Republicans, including McCarthy, at the time, although the leadership never specifically committed to introducing the bill on the floor.

But after the midterm elections produced a smaller-than-expected majority, there now appears to be little appetite within the House Republican Party for such a bill. Smith has yet to reintroduce his legislation this session of Congress, and even when he does, sources say, the leadership has no intention of introducing it. And it is clear that some of the most vulnerable members of the party would be uncomfortable, if not outright opposed, to such a bill.

Freshman New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who led his district away from Democratic control and helped achieve a Republican majority, said he does not support a federal abortion ban but also criticized the Democrats’ position on the issue. .

“I think the wingers in both parties are wrong on this. Most Americans believe there is a reasonable amount of time, and it usually falls in the first quarter,” Lawler told Trends Wide. “When you look at this topic, most people want sensibility and they want a rational discussion about it.”

Rep. David Valadao of California, one of 18 Republicans representing a district won by Biden, tried to avoid the topic entirely. “No comment,” he said when asked about Florida’s six-week ban.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon, whose Nebraska district also voted for Biden, told Trends Wide: “The states are the center of gravity in all of these debates. I think that’s what Dobbs made possible.”

Conservative lawmakers shared a similar opinion.

Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, told Trends Wide, “It’s up to the states,” when asked about a national ban. Freshman Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida agreed, saying, “I think it’s a states’ rights decision. I personally am pro-life.”

Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, said: “The result of the Dobbs decision is that the voters will make the decisions on abortion at the state level.”

And Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who identifies as “100% pro-life” and signed a bill last year to ban abortions after 15 weeks, argued that Congress should be sensitive to the position of the American public. on the issue and that a six-week ban doesn’t have that kind of support.

“My own opinion? I wish there were no abortions except for rape, incest, and life of the mother, but should we impose that ban at that level here now? I don’t think so, because that’s not the national consensus,” Hawley said. “Voters are weighing in state after state. Let them do that unless there is a really broad consensus.”

His position is in line with that of former President Donald Trump, who also recently called abortion a state problem, a comment that drew the ire of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony ProLife America, which pressures presidential candidates to support a 15 week ban.

Cornyn addressed the confusion after last summer’s court ruling, saying: “I think there is some confusion among the pro-life community as to what exactly we were asking for. In Roe v. Wade, we were calling for us to return authority to the states, and now people want to continue the fight here in Washington, and I don’t agree with that approach.”

Republicans turn to ‘incremental’ anti-abortion targets

In the absence of a federal ban and under pressure from powerful anti-abortion groups, Republicans are trying to solve the problem in other ways.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed two abortion-related messaging bills: one that would require health care providers to try to preserve the life of a baby in the rare event that a fetus is born alive during or after an abortion attempt, something that is already required, and another that condemns “recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups and churches.”

Both measures, which are going nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, were seen as close at hand.

Meanwhile, a limited bill banning the use of federal funds for abortions that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana promised would be voted on in the first two weeks by the Republican majority, still has not been scheduled.

Lawmakers are now devoting much of their energy to the appropriations process, and specifically to efforts to reenact the Hyde Amendment, which blocks the use of federal funds for most abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger.

While the amendment is included in spending bills annually, groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the National Right to Life Commission are lobbying Republican leaders to introduce a bill that would make the arrangement is permanent.

The National Right to Life Commission said it is in regular communication with House Republican leaders about possible legislative efforts and educational needs on the issue.

“What we’re working on right now is primarily re-acquainting members with the issue of abortion after the Dobbs decision. This is a very different picture,” the group’s federal legislative director, Jennifer Popik, told Trends Wide.

Popik, who characterized his organization’s goals as “incremental,” acknowledged that after Dobbs’ decision, “everyone got worried” about options that were no longer available.

EV Osment, vice president of communications for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, advises Republican lawmakers not to be embarrassed about the issue, arguing that it can be a political win for them if they go on the offensive and get exactly where they stand.

“It is urgent that Republicans stand up and speak up about this and not let their opponents define them,” Osment said. “Republican candidates excel when they expose their opponents’ no-holds-barred approach to abortion.”

Trends Wide’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.