U.S. Senate Votes to Keep Abortion Off Military Bases, 51-49

WASHINGTON (June 8) - - Shown below is the May 26, 1999, roll call vote by which the U.S. Senate rejected, 51 to 49, an attempt to authorize the performance of abortion on demand at U.S. military medical facilities.

Here is some background to this vote: In 1993, President Clinton, then newly elected, issued an order requiring overseas military medical facilities to provide abortions to uniformed personnel and their dependents. The direct costs of such abortions were to be assessed to the clients, because long-standing law prohibits the use of Department of Defense funds for abortions (except to save the mother's life).

In order to nullify President Clinton's order, in February 1996 Congress added language to a defense authorization bill to prohibit abortions from being performed at military facilities (except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest), even at client expense. President Clinton objected to this provision, but he reluctantly signed the bill into law for the sake of its other provisions.

On May 26, 1999, during consideration of the defense authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2000 (S. 1059), pro-abortion Senators Patty Murray (D-Wa.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) offered an amendment to repeal the 1996 ban on abortions at military facilities.

Pro-life Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) moved to table (kill) the Murray Amendment, and this motion prevailed 51 to 49; this is the roll call shown below.

If a single additional senator had supported the Murray Amendment, the motion to kill the amendment would have failed on a tie. In that case, Vice President Al Gore, who was standing by, would have cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the pro-abortion amendment.

In a related development, on May 19 the House Armed Services Committee also voted to continue the ban on performance of abortions at military facilities, turning back an attempt by pro-abortion Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Ca.) to repeal the ban. That vote, on which the pro-life side prevailed 33 to 26, came during consideration of the House version of the defense authorization bill (HR 1401).

The committee approved a change in law proposed by pro-abortion Rep. Steven Kuykendall (R-Ca.) to allow Defense Department funds to be used to pay the costs of abortions performed in cases of rape or incest. An attempt by pro-life Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) to block that change failed, 29 to 25.

However, the committee then also approved an amendment, offered by pro-life Rep. Steve Buyer (R-In.), 30 to 29, to make that policy apply only in cases involving forcible rape or incest (thereby excluding statutory rape), and only "if reported to a law enforcement agency."

It is expected that the full House of Representatives will vote on whether to repeal the 1996 ban on performance of abortions in military facilities (the Sanchez Amendment) soon. That roll call will be reproduced in National Right to Life News.

KEY

X Pro-life vote (against abortion on military bases)

O Pro-abortion vote (in favor of abortion on military bases)

Alabama

Shelby R (R) X

Sessions J (R) X

Alaska

Stevens T (R) X

Murkowski F (R) X

Arizona

McCain J (R) X

Kyl J (R) X

Arkansas

Lincoln B (D) O

Hutchinson T (R) X

California

Feinstein D (D) O

Boxer B (D) O

Colorado

Campbell B (R) X

Allard W (R) X

Connecticut

Dodd C (D) O

Lieberman J (D) O

Delaware

Roth W (R) X

Biden J (D) O

Florida

Graham B (D) O

Mack C (R) X

Georgia

Coverdell P (R) X

Cleland M (D) O

Hawaii

Inouye D (D) O

Akaka D (D) O

Idaho

Craig L (R) X

Crapo M (R) X

Illinois

Durbin R (D) O

Fitzgerald P (R) X

Indiana

Lugar R (R) X

Bayh E (D) O

Iowa

Grassley C (R) X

Harkin T (D) O

Kansas

Brownback S (R) X

Roberts P (R) X

Kentucky

McConnell M (R) X

Bunning J (R) X

Louisiana

Breaux J (D) X

Landrieu M (D) O

Maine

Snowe O (R) O

Collins S (R) O

Maryland

Sarbanes P (D) O

Mikulski B (D) O

Massachusetts

Kennedy E (D) O

Kerry J (D) O

Michigan

Levin C (D) O

Abraham S (R) X

Minnesota

Wellstone P (D) O

Grams R (R) X

Mississippi

Cochran T (R) X

Lott T (R) X

Missouri

Bond C (R) X

Ashcroft J (R) X

Montana

Baucus M (D) O

Burns C (R) X

Nebraska

Kerrey B (D) O

Hagel C (R) X

Nevada

Reid H (D) X

Bryan R (D) O

New Hampshire

Smith R (R) X

Gregg J (R) X

New Jersey

Lautenberg F (D) O

Torricelli R (D) O

New Mexico

Domenici P (R) X

Bingaman J (D) O

New York

Moynihan D (D) O

Schumer C (D) O

North Carolina

Helms J (R) X

Edwards J (D) O

North Dakota

Conrad K (D) O

Dorgan B (D) O

Ohio

DeWine M (R) X

Voinovich G (R) X

Oklahoma

Nickles D (R) X

Inhofe J (R) X

Oregon

Wyden R (D) O

Smith G (R) X

Pennsylvania

Specter A (R) O

Santorum R (R) X

Rhode Island

Chafee J (R) O

Reed J (D) O

South Carolina

Thurmond S (R) X

Hollings E (D) O

South Dakota

Daschle T (D) O

Johnson T (D) O

Tennessee

Thompson F (R) X

Frist B (R) X

Texas

Gramm P (R) X

Hutchison K (R) X

Utah

Hatch O (R) X

Bennett R (R) X

Vermont

Leahy P (D) O

Jeffords J (R) O

Virginia

Warner J (R) X

Robb C (D) O

Washington

Gorton S (R) O

Murray P (D) O

West Virginia

Byrd R (D) O

Rockefeller J (D) O

Wisconsin

Kohl H (D) O

Feingold R (D) O

Wyoming

Thomas C (R) X

Enzi M (R) X