New push in Congress for common ground on abortion
July 23, 2009
Send this news item to a Friend
Sign-up for Daily News Updates
July 22, 2009
Seeking elusive common ground on abortion, prominent activists and clergy on both sides of the debate are throwing their support behind a bill aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies and supporting pregnant women.
The bill's backers hope President Barack Obama, who has appealed for a more civil tone to the debate, will embrace it as a step toward reducing the need for abortions, but many staunch anti-abortion leaders remain hostile. "It's part of a big political scam," said Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee.
At issue is the so-called Ryan-DeLauro bill - first introduced in 2006 and being reintroduced Thursday by Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. Supporters range from abortion-rights activists to Roman Catholic academics who consider abortion an evil.
"This is a landmark bill for the culture wars - a prototype for how we can approach things in the future," said the Rev. Joel Hunter, an evangelical megachurch pastor from Orlando, Fla., who opposes abortion.
Hunter, who serves on the White House faith-based advisory council, said the key to the bill is its breadth - appealing to liberals with proposals to prevent unintended pregnancies and to conservatives with provisions to support women who choose to carry unintended pregnancies to term.
"When you realize you need someone who's been an adversary to help you advance your own projects, that's a big deal," Hunter said.
Among the bill's many provisions: increased access to contraceptives, expanded Medicaid coverage for family planning, more support for comprehensive sex education, support for pregnant and parenting college students and expanded adoption assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet done an analysis of the bill's potential cost.
While Obama has urged Americans to seek common ground on reducing the need for abortions, the White House has yet to propose or endorse any specific legislation to achieve that.
Click here to read the rest of the article
