Morning Roundup: Continuing Resolution, Planned Parenthood Battle Wages On

Beth Saunders

Washington considers compensated surrogacy, SBA List and FRC demand House vote against keeping goverment running unless bill is anti-family planning, Sen. Murkowski supports Title X, Nebraska woman denied labor inducement, Idaho poised to ban abortion in state exchanges, and an "expose!" that isn't really.

Washington considers compensated surrogacy, SBA List and FRC demand House vote against keeping goverment running unless bill is anti-family planning, Sen. Murkowski supports Title X, Nebraska woman denied labor inducement, Idaho poised to ban abortion in state exchanges, and an “expose!” that isn’t really.

  • The Washington House has passed a bill allowing for compensated surrogacy in that state, and the bill will have a hearing in the Senate today. Currently, it is illegal to pay a woman to be a surrogate in Washington, so many couples turn to Oregon or California, family or friends, or pay a surrogate illegally.
  • Anti-choice groups such as Susan B. Anthony List and the Family Research Council are encouraging Republican members of Congress to vote against a continuing resolution today that would keep the government running until April 2, unless it contains the Pence amendment, which bars federal funding of Planned Parenthood. House Speaker John Boehner has said he wants to focus on anti-choice measures in a longer-term spending bill.
  • Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has written a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee asking that they find a way to continue funding family planning programs. She joins Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) as a Republican supporter of Title X.
  • A Nebraska woman was forced to risk infection and infertility after her water broke at 22 weeks pregnant, and she was not allowed by law to have her labor induced, even though her fetus would not survive. A week after her membranes broke, she birthed a girl who died 15 minutes later. Nebraska passed a “fetal pain” law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks last month.
  • Idaho is poised to pass a law prohibiting state insurance exchanges from covering abortion, except in the cases of rape, incest and life endangerment. Women would still be permitted to purchase private insurance that covers abortion.
  • A group called CatholicVote.org has put out a video they are calling an “expose” of radical extremist abortion advocates. They show activists at rallies, demanding that women be allowed to control their bodies and their futures. Not sure what is so radical about that. Watch for yourself. 

Mar 15

Mar 14