Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., plans to introduce a bill curbing the right to abortions in Washington, D.C., extending the House GOP effort in that regard.
Amash has written on his Facebook page that he intends to offer a bill that “requires minors in D.C. to receive their parents' consent before having an abortion, prohibits non-doctors from performing abortions, and provides conscience protections for individuals and health care facilities in D.C. that refuse to perform abortions,”
The Hill reports.
The proposal will be titled, “The District of Columbia Respect for Life and Conscience Act of 2012.”
In the past, Amash has co-sponsored several bills limiting the use of government money to pay for abortions, including the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and the Protect Life Act.
“The right to life is sacred and undeniable,” Amash wrote on his congressional website. “It is the proper role of government to protect life, and it is unconscionable for government to sanction the taking of helpless and innocent life.”
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., introduced a similar bill to Amash’s in January — The District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. That bill would ban abortions after the 20-week gestation period in Washington.
Franks told The Hill that his bill was needed because late-term abortion doctors forbidden from practice elsewhere were invading Washington. His bill has 197 co-sponsors so far.
“Because of the extreme liberal local government in D.C., there is some indication . . . that D.C. either is becoming, or has the potential to become, a safe haven for abortionists to do these late-term abortions, who for other reasons have had their licenses revoked in the states and [have] come to the District as a safe haven,” he said.
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