The push to ban certain third trimester abortions is just one of about a half dozen different legislative maneuvers by abortion opponents in Congress, whose numbers swelled to a majority as a result of the 1994 elections. House Republicans passed a bill banning abortions at overseas military hospitals, even if paid for by the patient. The ban, which was an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill, was passed in the House, but is struck in the Senate Armed Services Committee. On the House floor members also voted to strike from health insurance any coverage for federal employees' abortions. The Title X program would be totally eliminated.
Title X provides the only federal funding for family planning.
All federal funding for human embryo research of any kind would be eliminated. Such research has shown great promise for progress in the treatment of many life threatening diseases, among them certain cancers and Altzheimers. Medicaid payment for abortions for women who have been raped or victimized through incest would be at the discretion of each state. Currently, abortions in cases of rape and incest must be covered by Medicaid for poor women. If passed, this state option would be retroactive back to 1993, rendering pending legal challenges to denial of funding moot.