By a vote of 224-198, the U.S. House of Representative approved a measure last week that would require all health plans covering federal employees to pay the costs of female contraceptives. The bill would force 374 different health-insurance companies to pay the costs of contraceptives prescribed by physicians, including pills, diaphragms, and even abortifacient “contraceptives” such as IUDs, Norplant and Depo-Provera. The U.S. House of Representatives is voting this Thursday on whether to override President Clinton’s veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1122). The Senate vote won’t come until after Labor Day. The last time the Senate voted on the bill, in May, 1997, they were three votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override a presidential veto, so pro-lifers in states where Senators voted against the bill are being urged to increase the pressure they put on their Senators to reverse their position. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has said that he intends to bring the Child Custody Protection Act, supported overwhelmingly in a July 15 House vote, to the floor of the Senate for debate and a vote before the August recess. If, however, pro-abortion senators use all the procedural options available to them to obstruct the progress of a bill, a vote may be delayed until after Labor Day, so US pro-lifers are urging grassroots action to raise the profile of the issue, thereby raising the stakes for obstructing the bill. Republicans introduced a new bill last week to change racketeering laws to protect the freedom of speech of grassroots organizations such as pro-life groups. The bill was prompted by an April court victory by the National Organization for Women against the Pro-Life Action Network using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Supporters said the legislation would protect protesters’ rights to free speech from opponents using the law to shut them down. The U.S. Justice Department, apparently oblivious of the radical abuse of RICO against peaceful pro-life advocates, registered its opposition to the measure, saying it “would grievously impair the United States’ ability to combat organized crime’s corrupt influence over labor unions and labor-management relations.”
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FOUR LIFE-RELATED BILLS IN U.S. CONGRESS
By a vote of 224-198, the U.S. House of Representative approved a measure last week that would require all health plans covering federal employees to pay the costs of female contraceptives. The bill would force 374 different health-insurance companies to pay the costs of contraceptives prescribed by physicians, including pills, diaphragms, and even abortifacient “contraceptives” such as IUDs, Norplant and Depo-Provera. The U.S. House of Representatives is voting this Thursday on whether to override President Clinton’s veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1122). The Senate vote won’t come until after Labor Day. The last time the Senate voted […]
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