Los Angeles Times Examines Likely Reintroduction of Abortion-Related Amendment to Federal Bankruptcy Reform Bill

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 01 Mar 2005 - 18:00 PDT

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.The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined how an abortion-related amendment, expected to be introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), might derail federal bankruptcy reform legislation again this session. Schumer has said he will introduce an amendment to the legislation that would limit the ability of antiabortion protesters to declare bankruptcy in order to avoid court-imposed fines. Schumer introduced similar amendments to the Senate version of the legislation in 2002 and 2003 (Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 2/28). However, the House-passed version of the bill lacked the provision both years. Although House and Senate negotiators in 2002 agreed on compromise language that narrowed the abortion-related provision to pertain only to cases of intentional violence and apply more generally beyond abortion clinics, the House removed the abortion-related language altogether before passing the measure, and then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) refused to bring it to a vote in the Senate, effectively killing the measure (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 1/29/04). Overhauling the bankruptcy code is a "top item" on the Senate's agenda, but Republicans have said Schumer's abortion-related amendment is a "poison pill" for the legislation, which otherwise would "pass easily," according to the Times (Los Angeles Times, 2/28).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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