Republican lawmakers pushed a bill through the House of Representatives that tightens restrictions on abortions after a bill with tougher language was dropped by the GOP controlled members of Congress.
The bill passed on the same day as March for Life, the pro-life event that drew 500,000 life advocates to Washington, D.C. and heads to the Senate.
Participants in the “March for life” walk along Concord Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee, photo Michael Stansberry via wikimedia commons
This pro-life bill bars federal funding for abortions. The bill followed a similar pro-life bill that would have banned late-term abortions; it was abandoned after female lawmakers voted against it.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. said, “I urge my colleagues to stand with the hundreds of thousands of people out on the Mall right now by voting for this bill. Stand up and commit to creating an America that values every life.”
House members ultimately voted 242-179 in favor of the bill that will ban the use of federal money for abortions.
“I was fine with the bill either way because the important thing for me as a pro-life person is to make a very strong pro-life statement today with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the march of life here in town today,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. “I’m proud of the leadership for bringing to the floor a bill that we can all rally behind.”
In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has expressed support for a 20-week abortion ban, which Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Thursday he would introduce after working out issues with the rape-reporting element.
Children at a protest in Texas, fighting against the abortion regulations
photo twitter: Abortion rally in Texas
