House Adds Rape and Incest to Circumstances for Abortion
The House narrowly voted today to add cases of rape and incest to the circumstances in which poor women can have government-funded abortions, approving language that President Bush has vowed to veto.
The emotional debate came during action on spending bills for the Labor and Health and Human Services departments and the District of Columbia, both of which have been threatened with vetoes over abortion questions.
The Senate now must act on the compromise bills that worked out differences between House and Senate versions of the legislation
The key abortion vote came on a motion by Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae) asking the House to reverse itself and go along with the Senate on the Labor-HHS bill by adding to the standard “life of the mother” cases incidents of rape and incest. She prevailed, 216 to 206. In a second vote, Boxer won, 212 to 207.
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