Congressional Quarterly Today: Anti-Abortion Democrats
Are Pushing for U.S. Aid to Abortion Groups |
Site last published: 02/03/10
Congressional Quarterly Today: Anti-Abortion Democrats Are Pushing for U.S. Aid to Abortion Groups
December 06,2007
By: Adam
Graham-Silverman
Things don't look good for legislation that would loosen restrictions on abortion providers overseas, but that hasn't stopped an unlikely group of anti-abortion Democrats from picking up the cause.
In a Dec. 5 letter to top appropriators, five Democrats who oppose abortion urged that language be kept in the State-Foreign Operations spending bill (HR 2764) that would allow condoms to go to groups that provide or promote abortion overseas.
Currently, the so-called Mexico City policy forbids U.S. aid to such groups, and President Bush has threatened to veto any changes to it.
But in their letter, the Democrats argued that "increasing access to contraception is critical to efforts to reduce the number of abortions, both domestically and overseas."
The letter, which noted that both the House and Senate have endorsed a rollback to the Mexico City rules, was signed by Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts, James L. Oberstar of Minnesota and Jim Langevin of Rhode Island.
"This has pro-life and pro-choice Democrats coming together where there's common ground on the abortion issue," Langevin said.
But since the bill has become the year-end vehicle for a catchall spending measure, Democratic leaders may not be willing to risk the whole package over small policy riders.
"Any omnibus that contains language to weaken an existing pro-life policy is likely to face great difficulties in the Senate, in addition to the threatened veto," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director at the National Right to Life Committee.
Things don't look good for legislation that would loosen restrictions on abortion providers overseas, but that hasn't stopped an unlikely group of anti-abortion Democrats from picking up the cause.
In a Dec. 5 letter to top appropriators, five Democrats who oppose abortion urged that language be kept in the State-Foreign Operations spending bill (HR 2764) that would allow condoms to go to groups that provide or promote abortion overseas.
Currently, the so-called Mexico City policy forbids U.S. aid to such groups, and President Bush has threatened to veto any changes to it.
But in their letter, the Democrats argued that "increasing access to contraception is critical to efforts to reduce the number of abortions, both domestically and overseas."
The letter, which noted that both the House and Senate have endorsed a rollback to the Mexico City rules, was signed by Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts, James L. Oberstar of Minnesota and Jim Langevin of Rhode Island.
"This has pro-life and pro-choice Democrats coming together where there's common ground on the abortion issue," Langevin said.
But since the bill has become the year-end vehicle for a catchall spending measure, Democratic leaders may not be willing to risk the whole package over small policy riders.
"Any omnibus that contains language to weaken an existing pro-life policy is likely to face great difficulties in the Senate, in addition to the threatened veto," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director at the National Right to Life Committee.