Abortion training in health centers has been halted by The House in using federal money to train doctors on how to perform the controversial procedure, reports The AP.
The House vote on Wednesday is the latest in a series of anti-abortion measures pushed by the Republican majority.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the author of the measure, said she wanted to make it "crystal clear that taxpayer money is not being used to train health care providers to perform abortion procedures."
The Foxx amendment passed 234-182. The proposal was presented as an amendment to the latest of several GOP bills to restrict funding for the health care act that was enacted last year.
This bill gives Congress control over spending for a program to encourage health centers to provide training to medical residents, The AP reports.
However, there had been objections of some Democrats that the amendment would prevent health centers from teaching a basic medical technique that can be critical in saving a woman's life during emergencies.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. said, "This amendment would jeopardize both education and women's health care by obliterating funding for a necessary full range of medical training by health care professionals.”
The Foxx amendment and the overall bill to restrict the health care act are both likely to fall by the wayside in the Democratic-controlled Senate, reports The AP.
Since coming to power in January, the Republican majority in the House has acted tenaciously to enact a permanent ban on federal funds being used to perform abortions.
The key aim was to make it easier for hospitals to refuse abortion cases and to make it more expensive for small businesses to choose insurance plans under the health care act that provides abortion coverage.
The House unsuccessfully tried to cut off federal money for Planned Parenthood as part of the battle over this year's budget, The AP reports.
Foxx said, "If organizations want to provide elective abortions or train abortion doctors they need to find someone other than taxpayers to write the checks.”
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said Foxx's amendment was an unprecedented restriction on medical training.
She said, "Regardless of how one feels about legal abortion, reasonable lawmakers can agree that doctors should be as well-trained as possible to deal with any medical situation that may arise.”
The amendment also stipulates that no funds available under the grant program can be used to perform abortions, reports The AP.
Furthermore, teaching health centers will not be eligible for funds if they discriminate against providers that deny abortion services.
