House Rules Committee Passes Smith Bill

Last night, the House Rules Committee passed the so-called “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” This bill, authored by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), is so extreme that it originally attempted to redefine rape and incest. Even without these provisions, the bill is still an unprecedented attack on women’s access to abortion care.

This bill would prevent millions of American women from obtaining private insurance coverage for abortion care even if they pay with their own funds. It would also deny abortion coverage for vulnerable women who depend on the federal government for their health care, and permanently ban Washington DC from using its own funds to provide abortion care.

Although we don’t expect this bill to make it to the President’s desk, the Obama Administration issued a statement yesterday opposing this legislation.

“The Administration will strongly oppose legislation that unnecessarily restricts women’s reproductive freedoms and consumers’ private insurance options,” the White House said in a statement. “If the President is presented with HR 3, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.”

The House is scheduled to vote on this bill tomorrow morning.