Washington, DC — The House of Representatives, on September 25, again defeated a pro-abortion amendment to the military spending appropriations bill that would have allowed abortions at U.S. military bases. The House voted
217-199 to reject the amendment, sponsored by pro-abortion Rep. Loretta
Sanchez (D-CA).
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life
Committee, urged opposition to the amendment “because the facilities and
personnel of the federal government should not be utilized to deliberately
destroy the lives of innocent human beings.”
If adopted, the amendment would have struck current pro-life policy that
prohibits performing almost any abortion at a U.S. military hospital.
Johnson explained the House adopted the current policy in 1996 and has
consistently rejected previous attempts by Rep. Sanchez and other pro-abortion lawmakers to overturn it since.
The House last voted on the amendment in May 2000 and the Senate has also
voted it down. John Cusey, a staff member with the House Pro-Life Caucus,
said last year's vote was 221-195 against the amendment.
Cusey indicated pro-life Congressional leaders expected another vote yesterday on abortion. Pro-abortion Del. Eleanor Norton (D-DC) had intended to introduce an amendment to the bill authorizing funding for the District of Columbia. She withdrew her amendment to mandate taxpayer funding of abortion and her previous attempts have been defeated each time.
As is typical in Congressional debates on abortion, pro-abortion lawmakers
often attempt to mislead fellow lawmakers. Yesterday's vote was no
exception. According to Doug Johnson, Rep. Sanchez circulated a briefing
paper about her amendment contending it was needed to help women avoid “dangerous waits in order to return to the United States [for abortions] if stationed in countries that ban abortions.”
“Even if the Sanchez Amendment were enacted into law, abortions still
would not be permitted at bases in those countries,” Johnson said. “It is
true that many countries, to their credit, have laws protecting the right
to life of unborn children.” However, Johnson explained, it has been
Defense Department policy to “respect host nation laws regarding abortion”
at overseas bases, even before Congress enacted the current pro-life policy in 1996.
ACTION: Click here to find out how your member of Congress voted. Please take a moment to call, fax or write a letter to express your appreciation for a pro-life vote or your **polite** disagreement with a pro-abortion vote.
(This article courtesy of the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
