Anti-abortion activists vow to oust GOP lawmaker for trying to protect rape victims

A conservative North Carolina lawmaker with solid anti-abortion credentials is finding herself under attack from anti-choice extremists who want to oust her for dropping her sponsorship of a controversial anti-abortion bill -- even though she voted for it later.

Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) is looking at multiple challengers as she approaches a run for her fourth term after being derided by activists for being "unfaithful" and "betraying" the anti-abortion cause. The use of those terms is no accident, coming weeks after Ellmers was accused of having an affair with fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy of California.

According to anti-abortion LifeSite News, conservatives have been unhappy with Ellmers since she withdrew her sponsorship of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in January during Washington, D.C.'s March for Life.

Ellmers, along with several other female lawmakers were concerned that the bill's rape exception was too narrow and would only apply to women who filed police reports.

Responding to the uproar over her withdrawal, Ellmers turned to Facebook and announced that she would still vote for the bill, writing, “To clear up any misinformation, I will be voting tomorrow to support H.R. 36 – The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protect Act Resources bill. I have and will continue to be a strong defender of the prolife community.”

Ellmer's vote failed to mollify critics who have since been actively recruiting candidates to primary Ellmers in the upcoming election.

"Congresswoman Renee Ellmers has betrayed the pro-life community," declared the North Carolina Values Coalition.

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes jumped into the fray, releasing a statement calling Ellmers,"a faithless Representative, favored by political bosses, who must be removed from office if decent politics is to prevail."

Longtime anti-choice extremist Jill Stanek added, "Supposedly pro-life Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers has become a pro-choice mole.”

Attorney Kay Daly says she is running against Ellmers by calling her a "RINO:  Republican In Name Only," and adding, "I'm running against Renee because she's been unfaithful to her constituents and to the Republican Party platform."

How a more conservative candidate fares in the North Carolina district remains to be seen. Ellmers originally won the seat in 2010, upsetting a longtime Democratic officeholder in a vote so close it forced a recount.