Vote Postponed On Sebelius HHS Secretary Nomination; Sebelius Vetoes Kansas Antiabortion Bill

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 27 Apr 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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The Senate on Thursday night scheduled a confirmation vote for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' (D) nomination to be HHS secretary for April 28 after Republicans threatened to delay the nomination, CQ Today reports. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) earlier Thursday had sought unanimous consent to schedule a floor vote, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected to the move. McConnell spokesperson Don Stewart said GOP senators want more time to consider Sebelius' nomination (Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/23). McConnell said that the Senate Finance Committee's approval of Sebelius on Wednesday was "fairly contentious." He added, "So at least for today, I'm not able to enter into a consent agreement." Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) were the only Republicans on the committee to support Sebelius in the 15-8 vote (Brady, Roll Call, 4/23). According to CQ Today, it was not clear how many Republicans objected to the full Senate vote.

CQ Today reports that Reid and the Republicans reached an agreement that eight hours of debate will begin at 10:00 a.m. on April 28 and that 60 votes -- rather than a simple majority -- will be needed for confirmation. Reid said he was "confident" Republicans will allow the Senate to "move forward on that quickly" (Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/23).

Sebelius Vetoes Antiabortion-Rights Kansas Bill

Sebelius on Thursday vetoed a Kansas bill (S.B. 218) that would have amended the state's law on abortion later in pregnancy to require that doctors provide more detailed medical explanations to justify why they were performing a procedure, the Kansas City Star reports. Sebelius said the bill would not have reduced the need for abortion and likely would have been ruled unconstitutional. The bill also would have amended the required written information women receive 24 hours before abortion procedures to state that an abortion terminates a "whole, separate, unique, living human being." In addition, the bill would have given prosecutors more power to file charges against abortion providers and allowed a woman who received an abortion, her husband or her parents to sue the doctor for damages if they believed the abortion was performed illegally (Klepper, Kansas City Star, 4/23).

According to CQ Today, Sebelius' home-state senator, Sam Brownback (R), implied on Thursday that he might reconsider his support for Sebelius to be HHS secretary because of her veto of the bill. Brownback, a strong opponent of abortion rights, has supported Sebelius throughout the confirmation process. However, he said that Thursday's veto "makes it harder and harder" to support her and that he would "keep thinking on through it over the weekend" (Hunter, CQ Today, 4/23).

In her veto statement, Sebelius said, "While I agree that we should try to reduce the number of abortions, it cannot be at the increased risk to the life or health of women." She added that the bill would have intimidated abortion providers and limited women's access to abortion services (Kansas City Star, 4/23). Sebelius noted that the number of abortions in Kansas has decreased by more than 10% since she took office in 2003. She said she is "confident that with a more united effort to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, combined with creating conditions that provide support and assistance for mothers and their babies, we will have even greater success reducing abortions in our state." In explaining her reasoning that the bill likely would be unconstitutional, Sebelius cited a 1997 appeals court ruling that struck down an Ohio bill that she said had similar language (Hanna, AP/Indianapolis Star, 4/24). According to the Star, Kansas lawmakers are expected to attempt to override the veto, a process that requires two-thirds majorities in both the state House and Senate. However, earlier votes suggest that the bill's supporters will be a few votes short of an override (Kansas City Star, 4/23).

Abortion-Rights Opponents Continue Objections To HHS Nomination

Sebelius' veto comes as antiabortion-rights groups continue to push GOP lawmakers to oppose the HHS nomination because of her support for abortion rights and past political contribution from Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, the AP/Billing Gazette reports. On Thursday, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele said that "[s]ignificant questions remain" about Sebelius' relationship with Tiller and about her position on abortions performed later in pregnancy. He added that if Sebelius and Obama "are unwilling to answer these questions, [Obama] should withdraw her nomination" (Werner, AP/Billings Gazette, 4/24).

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) also used the veto to attack Sebelius' nomination to be HHS secretary. He called the veto a "clear example of the governor's extreme pro-abortion agenda that should disqualify her from leading our nation's health agency" (Hunter, CQ Today, 4/23).

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