CHICAGO — A top Democratic official on Wednesday canceled a planned fund-raiser for an anti-abortion congressman that had prompted an outcry among progressives, raising the question of whether there is room left in the party for lawmakers who oppose abortion at a moment when numerous Republican-controlled states are trying to effectively outlaw the procedure. The decision by Representative Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, underscored the extent to which support for abortion rights has become a central litmus test for Democrats in the aftermath of President Trump’s two appointments to the Supreme Court. Ms. Bustos did not say directly why she was backing out of the planned $1,000-per-person breakfast in Chicago next month for Representative Daniel Lipinski, an Illinois Democrat facing a progressive primary challenger who supports abortion rights. But she left little doubt that her decision was driven by her party’s anger over the new abortion laws in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and elsewhere — and rising fears that Roe v. Wade could be in jeopardy. “I’m proud to have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and I’m deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating attacks on women’s access to reproductive care in several states,” Ms. Bustos said in a statement, days after thousands of protesters marched in Chicago and other cities in support of abortion rights.

Source: New York Times May 22, 2019 21:50 UTC