For many years, the abortion debate in the US has remained in a kind of stasis. No compromise seemed possible and each side knew aggressive pushes would provoke an equally fierce response.
Aside from elections - where abortion is invoked to motivate each party's base and presidential candidates must proffer their Republican anti-abortion or Democratic pro-choice credentials to sate primary voters - the issue has rarely gathered steam in recent sessions of Congress.
Until now.
After offering an anti-abortion amendment that almost derailed the entire healthcare reform process last year, anti-abortion members appear emboldened.
Led by Republicans Mike Pence and Chris Smith, two abortion-related measures are headed to the House of Representatives, where Republicans now have sufficient votes to pass them without any support from Democrats.
Mr Pence is aiming to stop Planned Parenthood, a reproductive care organisation, receiving federal funds.
Planned Parenthood offers services including contraception, gynaecological and breast exams, and family planning, but is a favoured target for the anti-abortion lobby because it is America's leading provider of abortions.
It serves about 3 million women each year in its more than 800 clinics, and provided 324,008 abortions in 2008. The organisation says abortions account for only about 3% of its budget.
Anti-abortion activists have long had Planned Parenthood in their sights, keeping an almost constant vigil of protesters outside their clinics.
Their campaign to deny it federal funds has been aided recently by the release of several hidden camera videos showing a man posing as a pimp asking Planned Parenthood workers about services for under-age prostitutes.
Secret videosLive Action, the anti-abortion group behind the videos, contends that they demonstrate the willingness of Planned Parenthood "to aid and abet in the sexual exploitation of minors and young women".
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