In the trenches of Capitol Hill, Republican women are wary of another abortion debate.

“Even if you agree with the issue, and you personally are pro-life, whenever these bills come up you basically live in fear your boss will say something stupid and offensive,” said one female staffer for a very conservative member of Congress. “We keep putting ourselves in this position and it never turns out well for us.”…

Mair says the best move for the GOP would be to think outside the box on abortion, and tie their opposition to the procedure to a support for increased availability for contraception.

“I’d urge them to think strongly about whether there is companion legislation they might introduce to ensure greater access to actual contraception, such legislation optimally being free market-friendly, such as proposing lifting or easing regulations restricting the sale of the Pill without a prescription, or streamlining or simplifying the FDA approval process which could potentially help bring new and better contraceptives to market, potentially at much lower cost,” Mair said. “There are parts of the base that will not like those kinds of policies, either, but frankly, it’s a lot easier to avoid unplanned pregnancies and abortions—the ultimate thing that the pro-life community wants to put a stop to—if people just don’t get pregnant when they don’t intend to.”