WASHINGTON DC - In a 246 to 168 vote, the US House failed to get the two-thirds needed to pass a ban on gender-selection abortions. Referred to as Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), H.R. 3541 would have made it illegal to abort a baby because it was of an undesired sex.
Two votes Illinois prolifers were watching were of two Republicans that have a record of protecting and defending all forms of abortion - Congresswoman Judy Biggert and freshman Congressman Bob Dold (IL-10). Biggert, who is facing a tough re-election in the new, more conservative 13th CD voted Yes and Congressman Dold, who did his best to convince 10th CD voters that he was "moderate" on abortion issues, voted against the ban.
Overwhelmingly, the IL delegation voted to protect unborn babies whose lives could be ended if they were not the sex their mothers desired. Those supporting the ban were two Democrats - Jerry Costello and Dan Lipinski and Republicans Roskam, Walsh, Kinzinger, Biggert, Hultgren, Johnson, Manzullo, Schilling, Schock and Shimkus.
The bill would make it a federal offense to knowingly do any one of the following four things: (1) perform an abortion, at any time in pregnancy, “knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex or gender of the child”; (2) use “force or threat of force. . . for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection abortion”; (3) solicit or accept funds to perform a sex-selection abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the U.S. or across state lines for this purpose. However, “A woman upon whom a sex-selection abortion is performed may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable for any violation . . .”
Those opposing the ban included Republican Bob Dold and Democrats Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Jr, Luis Gutierrez, Mike Quigley, Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky.
