libertybrewcity
06-03-2010, 05:06 PM
Burris amendment enables abortions at military hospitals
WASHINGTON — Fifteen years ago in a Republican-held Congress, anti-abortion forces engineered a ban on abortions at U.S. military hospitals even if they are privately funded.
Efforts in Congress to repeal that ban have failed in recent years, but an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois to overturn the ban was added last night in a Senate committee. The repeal stands a good chance of passage.
Burris, a Democrat, observed that some 100,000 American service members and dependents live on military bases oversees.
“It is critical that we provide the higest quality care,” Burris said, “and that includes allowing women and their families the right to choose at facilities operated under the Department of Defense.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee added the abortion amendment to the $760 billion defense spending bill by a vote of 16-10 on the same evening it approved legislation paving the way for the Pentagon ending the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was among the Democrats voting for Burris’s amendment. Two senators broke party ranks: Ben Nelson, D-Neb., voted against it and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted for it.
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2010/05/burris-amendment-enables-abortions-at-military-hospitals/
WASHINGTON — Fifteen years ago in a Republican-held Congress, anti-abortion forces engineered a ban on abortions at U.S. military hospitals even if they are privately funded.
Efforts in Congress to repeal that ban have failed in recent years, but an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois to overturn the ban was added last night in a Senate committee. The repeal stands a good chance of passage.
Burris, a Democrat, observed that some 100,000 American service members and dependents live on military bases oversees.
“It is critical that we provide the higest quality care,” Burris said, “and that includes allowing women and their families the right to choose at facilities operated under the Department of Defense.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee added the abortion amendment to the $760 billion defense spending bill by a vote of 16-10 on the same evening it approved legislation paving the way for the Pentagon ending the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was among the Democrats voting for Burris’s amendment. Two senators broke party ranks: Ben Nelson, D-Neb., voted against it and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted for it.
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2010/05/burris-amendment-enables-abortions-at-military-hospitals/