House Expected To Vote On D.C. Abortion Bill

The U.S. House takes up today a bill that would ban some abortions in the District. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, (R-Ariz.), would prohibit women from getting an abortion after their 20th week of pregnancy, except to save the life of the mother.

Franks' bill is supported by a majority of Republicans and has 222 co-sponsors but because the measure made it to a vote under a procedure known as suspension of the rules, it will need a two-thirds majority vote to pass.

That seems unlikely, though, since most Democrats oppose the measure, including D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. Earlier this year, Norton was denied from speaking at a hearing on the bill — a courtesy usually afforded to members of Congress whose jurisdictions a piece of legislation would affect.

Both Norton and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray see the bill as yet another instance of a conservative congressman trying to impose his social agenda on D.C. residents who never voted for him, according to the Associated Press.

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http://wamu.org/news/morning_edition/12/07/31/house_expected _to_vote_on_dc_abortion_bill

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