House to vote on bill banning abortions based on sex of child

When did THIS become an issue in the US? They sure find novel ways to waste time worrying about the wrong things...

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 05/30/2012
House to vote on bill banning abortions based on sex of child
By Ed O'Keefe

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The National Right to Life Committee, a staunch abortion opponent, said the bill is necessary to combat the growing trend of “sex selection abortions” in Asian countries, where parents prefer to give birth to boys. The trend is also growing in popularity in the United States, especially in Asian communities, the group said.

The NRLC charged in a statement Tuesday that Democratic lawmakers who accuse Republicans of waging a “war on women” should consider “whether they wish to be recorded as being defenders of the escalating war on baby girls.”

But Democrats say the bill could unfairly target minority women seeking abortions, because doctors may suspect they are trying to abort a fetus because of its sex.

“The bill would require doctors to police their patients, undermining patient-doctor privilege,” Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said in a statement. “It limits a woman’s right to choose and jeopardizes her access to safe, legal medical care.”

Conyers, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, fought GOP attempts to name the bill after Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, arguing that doing so disrespected their legacies. Republicans said that the civil rights leaders would have backed the bill, but later relented and agreed to change its name.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/house-to-vote-on-bill-banning-abortions-based-on-sex-of-child/2012/05/29/gJQAFVgB0U_blog.html