Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993 TAG: 9305200054
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The Freedom of Choice Act was approved by the panel 20-15 after a long, often emotional debate.
"You don't want pro-choice - you want pro-abortion, one choice," Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., said angrily at one point, waving at Democrats on the panel.
A key sponsor, Rep. Don Edwards, D-Calif., countered that the GOP efforts were designed to "humiliate" women and make them change their minds.
The bill effectively would codify the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide but which has been somewhat diluted in subsequent rulings.
Edwards predicted the full House would take up the bill within a few weeks, but House Speaker Tom Foley, D-Wash., has said squabbling among the bill's supporters about how many restrictions should be left up to the states could imperil its chances.
The committee's action Wednesday was a victory for the faction that wants to keep restrictions out of the bill.
On mostly party-line votes, the panel repeatedly turned back Republican amendments. One would have let states impose strict parental notification laws; another would have let states enact informed-consent laws that require doctors to tell women about risks of abortion and alternatives to abortion.
The closest vote came on an effort by Hyde to let states impose "constitutionally permissible" waiting periods, such as Pennsylvania's 24-hour law.
That amendment died on a 17-17 vote. Rep. Dan Glickman, D-Kan., was the only lawmaker who didn't vote. He said later he was sorry he missed the vote and that he doesn't object to "reasonable" waiting periods - pointing up just what a tougher test the bill might have in the full House. Republicans complained that the legislation, as now written, is out of touch with most Americans' beliefs and would allow abortion on demand.
by CNB