House OKs lifting contraception aid ban

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_go_co/congress_abortion;_ylt=Am.2RKFtMKtrGWcv8MLaShbMWM0F

House OKs lifting contraception aid ban

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 10 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The House voted narrowly Thursday to reverse a ban on contraception aid to groups overseas that offer abortions, challenging a pillar of President Bush's foreign aid policy.

If the proposal passes the Senate, Bush is likely to swiftly veto it and be upheld by conservative lawmakers, who say no assistance of any kind should be given to organizations that promote or offer abortions.

The measure, approved 223-201, is intended by the new Democratic majority to crack open debate on a policy it says is failing badly. Initiated by President Reagan in 1984 at a population conference in Mexico City, the policy bars any assistance to organizations abroad that perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning.

Democrats say an unintended consequence is an alarming shortage of contraceptives, particularly in poor rural areas.

The bill would help "reduce unintended and high-risk pregnancies and abortions ... and save the lives of mothers," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who chairs the House appropriations panel that oversees the foreign aid budget.

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[Lasher]

1. Good, send him another one to veto.

Let him show himself as the my-way-or-the-highway obstructionist he is.

[MadMaddie]

2. Keep passing the bills and keep letting * veto them

and his numbers will continue to sink....26.....25....24 I am personally hoping for single digits....because if it gets that low...that means the Repulic party as we know it is doomed......23...22..21...

[Lars39]

3. This is what they want for us.

[rodeodance]

4. I heard some the this. The Repugs were having Cows!

[ismnotwasm]

5. This ban hurts poor women the world over

Woman who needed basic health care. Another horrible example of this admistration's -and those that support it-- hatred of human beings. I can't think of anything else that could cause someone to even think the ban was a good idea.

[Nikki Stone1]

8. Exactly

......

[sutz12]

6. We need a "Count the Vetoes" forum or something...

We need to have the numbers close to hand for the 2k8 election. "Your congressman supported the following 58 Bush vetoes. Do you?"

[Ilsa]

7. IIRC, one of the first things Bill Clinton did when he came into office

was issue and EO to overturn Reagan/Bush's ban on contraceptive aid. It was a quick lesson on how much of a difference it makes around the world whom we elect to the Executive office in this country. And if Bush vetoes and the Dems can't muster an override, then it is as good a reason as any for a liberal to win in 2008 and fix this unconscionable attack on women.