Washington --
It reads like a who's who of the next generation of Republican Party leaders: Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rob Portman.
But what is bringing all these marquee political names together is not the Iowa State Fair or a Tea Party rally on the National Mall. Rather, they are all talking discreetly about how to advance a bill in the Senate to ban abortion at 20 weeks after fertilization.
A similar ban passed the House last month, and Senate Democrats quickly pronounced it doomed to fail in their chamber. It is almost certain to be defeated there, and even if it were not, President Obama would veto it. But backers of the ban are eager to bring to the floor of the Senate the same impassioned debate over abortion that has been taking place in state legislatures around the country.
"I think there's significant support across the country for the idea that after 20 weeks, abortion should be significantly limited," said Rubio.
Republicans are hardly unanimous about the wisdom of entangling themselves in a national battle over abortion rights; many believe that the party should remain focused on addressing economic issues and fighting Obama's health care overhaul.
Democrats, meanwhile, are wary of the damage that a "no" vote on second-trimester abortion restrictions could inflict on some of their more vulnerable senators up for re-election in 2014, particularly in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, where legislatures have recently imposed strict limits.
The success of new limits on when, how and where abortions can be performed has helped invigorate the Republican base like few other issues this year. Because of such intensity, antiabortion groups say they have found considerable interest among the newer generation of Republican senators, especially those seeking to build up - or in some cases repair - their standing with conservative voters.
Antiabortion activists said that after the recently approved House measure and success in states like Texas, which approved a 20-week ban this month, they saw an opportunity they could not pass up.
"We really thought it was a moment to be very ambitious," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, one of the groups pushing for the Senate to take up the 20-week ban.
Abortion rights groups say the real goal of these laws, all of which challenge Supreme Court precedent, is to get another case before the court in the hopes that the justices will further restrict abortion rights.
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