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With grisly claims that Democrats promote “birth day abortions” and are “the party of death,” the Republican Party and its conservative allies have aggressively reset the terms of one of the country’s most divisive and emotionally fraught debates, forcing Democrats to reassess how they should respond to attacks and distortions that portray the entire party as extremist on abortion. The unusually forceful, carefully coordinated campaign has created challenges that Democrats did not expect as they struggle to combat misinformation and thwart further efforts to undercut access to abortion. (Peters, 5/16)

Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones condemned Alabama's new abortion ban as "extreme" and "irresponsible" Thursday, a day after the state's Republican governor signed the most restrictive abortion measure in the country into law. "I think this bill, frankly, is shameful. It is callous," Jones told reporters. "This bill uses rape victims and victims of incest at all ages, even minors, as political pawns." (Chandler and Paterson, 5/16)

Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand says that, as president, she'd seek to write into law the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that legalized abortion. During a rally at Georgia's state Capitol on Thursday, the New York senator criticized recent abortion bans signed into law in Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia and Alabama as "a nationwide assault on women's constitutional rights by ideological extremists." (Nadler, 5/16)

Senate Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from a harsh new Alabama law that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, and carries a penalty of up to 99 years in prison for anyone performing the procedure. Most GOP senators are trying their best to steer clear of the firestorm, arguing it’s a state-level issue that doesn’t involve Congress. (Bolton, 5/16)

Many Democrats running for president denounced the legislation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass) called it “an unconstitutional attack on women.” Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) said “women’s health care is under attack.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) said “this is a war on women” and will speak at an event condemning anti-abortion legislation in Georgia, which this month passed a law banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six week. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a national group that supports Democratic candidates for state legislatures, sent out a fundraising plea tied to the bill’s passage. (Duehren, 5/16)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday he believes an Alabama law banning nearly all abortions goes too far. “It goes further than I believe, yes,” McCarthy said during a press conference when asked about the restrictive policy. ...The comments from the GOP House leader came just a day after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed into law the most restrictive abortion policy in the nation. (Wise, 5/16)