Congress Thursday rejected the Prenatal Nondiscrimation Act, which would have banned sex-selective abortion in the United States. A majority of representatives voted for the bill -- 246-168 -- but it needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

Given that mixed outcome, the only sure takeaway -- besides the fact that the pro-life movement is sure to be emboldened by the 246 votes for the legislation -- is that the abortion debate remains so fraught that the two sides can't even have a reasonable conversation about something that could be a point of agreement.