Senate Abortion Bill to Challenge Bush

Alan Fram

Cavalier Daily

Cavalier Daily

1992-09-16

Cavalier Daily

Senate Abortion Bill to Challenge Bush
By ALAN FRAM
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -The Senate setup an election-season veto fight with President Bush on Monday by sending him a bill that would allow federally financed family planning clinics to resume abortion counseling.
The senators gent the measure to the White House on a voice vote, even though its House supporters will probably be unable to round up the two-thirds majority they would need to overturn an expected presidential veto.
A ban on such counseling was imposed by President Reagan in 1988 and continued by Bush. The Supreme Court upheld the prohibition in a 54 decision in April, 1991.
Congress will be forcing Bush to reject the measure less than two months before Election Day, at a time when public opinion show that the president’s anti- abortion stance is unpopular.
“The Bush administration hopes its ‘gag rule’ will keep abortion a secret as much as possible,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., using the name which opponents have given the ban, strategy ig unacceptable, and it’s doomed to failure.”
Opponents of the ban say it is harder for poor women to find out about abortion, because they compromise most of the four million women who use the 4,000 government-financed clinics each year supporters.
“It’s election-year high-jinks,” said Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C.

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