WASHINGTON National reproductive rights groups counted it as a major victory last week when the Democratic National Committee doubled down on its commitment to abortion rights amid anger at its support for Heath Mello, an anti-abortion candidate for mayor of Omaha, Nebraska.

But the groups pointed criticism of DNC chair Tom Perez , Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) for embracing Mello sparked a bitter public debate about the Democratic Party s values one that continues to simmer, overshadowing the large crowds the party drew on its cross-country tour and muddying efforts to present a united front against President Donald Trump .

Now even the DNC is clarifying that it never meant to suggest it would not back Mello or other anti-abortion Democrats .

Tom does not believe in litmus tests and he never said that he didnt support pro-life candidates, a DNC official told HuffPost.

In fact, the DNC invested in Mellos race and in candidates up and down the ballot in the May 9 general election through a contribution to the Nebraska Democratic Party, the official said.

No one has escaped blame in the recent abortion spat, however. Depending on who you ask, Sanders and his campaign spinoff group Our Revolution blindsided the party by failing to unearth Mellos history of supporting abortion restrictions; Perez sowed confusion in his rush to assuage NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading reproductive rights advocacy group; NARAL adopted an unusually orthodox stance in a bid to undermine Sanders; or it was some combination of the above.

That leaves Perez, who is just over two months into his term as DNC chair, with the difficult task of picking up the pieces ahead of the DNCs first Unity Reform Commission meeting next week. The commission was formed precisely to hash out the sort of internecine conflicts that dogged the 2016 presidential primary and resurfaced with a vengeance in Omaha.

Hes planning to meet with folks from all sides of this issue, the DNC official said of Perez.

The problems arose when The Wall Street Journal reported last Wednesday that Mello, as a state senator, had co-sponsored 2009 legislation requiring abortion providers to offer to show women an ultrasound image of the fetus before undergoing the procedure. The reproductive rights news site Rewire subsequently reported that Mello co-sponsored a 2010 state law banning the vast majority of abortions at 20 weeks or later, and that in 2011, he voted to bar telemedicine to conduct abortions and to prohibit insurance plans on the Obamacare exchange from covering abortions.

All of this information had already been out there: The votes were cast in public, after all. But Mellos anti-choice record hadnt come up when the DNC announced its plans to hold a rally for him in Omaha as part of Perez and Sanders Come Together, Fight Back tour weeks before. Or when Our Revolution, the successor organization to Sanders presidential campaign, endorsed Mello as well.

Neither Sanders nor the DNC knew about Mellos long anti-abortion record, people with knowledge of the matter said. The revelation took the national party by surprise the day before Sanders and Ellison, the deputy DNC chair, were due to speak at a rally for Mello. (Again, though, it shouldnt have. This is Nebraska, and Mellos vote on the 20-week ban made the tally in the state legislature 44-5 .)

Initially, Perez stood by the DNCs decision to get involved in the race, telling the Journal that the DNC does not demand fealty on every single issue. And Sanders told the Journal that a victory for Mello would be a shot across the board, that in a state like Nebraska a progressive Democrat can win. It didnt go unnoticed that Sanders described Mello as progressive despite Mellos anti-abortion history.