House subcommittee rejects effort to remove abortion coverage.
On May 12, (1994) a subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee voted 16-11 in support of retaining abortion coverage in the President's proposed health care plan. With its vote, the Labor/Management Relations subcommittee rejected an amendment by Representative Ron Klink (D-PA), which would have allowed insurers to cover abortions only in cases of forcible rape or incest, or life endangerment. Two Republican Representatives joined 14 Democrats voting against the amendment, while 3 Democratic Representatives were among the 11 people supporting the Klink amendment. The subcommittee also defeated an amendment introduced by Representative Dick Armey (R-TX), which would have prohibited any language in a health care reform bill from overruling constitutional state laws restricting abortion. 14 subcommittee members voted against the Armey amendment; 11 voted in favor. The subcommittee is not expected to act on a final health care measure before the Memorial Day recess. In related news, a Veterans' Affairs House subcommittee voted 11-8 on May 11 to prohibit the performance of abortions at Department of Veterans' Affairs Hospitals or the coverage of abortion services by VA funds. The amendment was introduced in the Hospitals and Health Care subcommittee by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). Neither subcommittee action represents a final decision on abortion coverage in health care reform and none of the 5 Congressional committees considering health reform is expected to finalize their proposals before the Memorial Day recess. The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee started work on health care reform on May 18. The Senate Finance Committee has only been meeting privately thus far, while neither the full House Education and Labor Committee nor the House Energy and Commerce Committee has met.
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000029:Abortion, Legal; D000569:Americas; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005376:Financial Management; D005380:Financing, Government; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D009656:North America; D011050:Policy Making; D014481:United States
Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Legal; Americas; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Family Planning; Fertility Control, Postconception; Financial Activities; Financing, Government; Legislation; North America; Northern America; Policy Development; United States