President Barack Obama will likely veto a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, at the point when the fetus could feel pain.
A statement from the White House Tuesday said that if the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act makes it to the president's desk, his senior advisers would recommend he veto it.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
“The administration strongly opposes H.R. 36, which would unacceptably restrict women's health and reproductive rights and is an assault on a woman's right to choose,” the statement of administration policy from the Office of Management and Budget said. “Women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care, and government should not inject itself into decisions best made between a woman and her doctor.”
The statement called the bill, sponsored by Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), “a direct challenge to the Supreme Court’s holding on abortion.”
“The administration is continuing its efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, expand access to contraception, support maternal and child health, and minimize the need for abortion,” the statement said. “At the same time, the administration is committed to the protection of women's health and reproductive freedom and to supporting women and families in the choices they make.”
The House will vote on the bill Thursday.
When introducing the legislation, Franks said, "More than 18,000 'very late term' abortions are performed every year on perfectly healthy unborn babies in America.”
He added that they “can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside of the womb in most cases.”
The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that if the bill passed, it would increase the federal budget deficit by at least $235 million over the next decade, and by as much as half a billion dollars.
