ABORTION: Boxer Criticizes Pro-Life Colleagues
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), an outspoken backer of abortion rights, said pro-life members of Congress are "chipping away at a woman's right to choose" rather than launching a full-fledged attack on abortion rights, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. Her remarks came Saturday at the annual convention of the National Women's Political Caucus, which hosted "California's largest grass roots organization dedicated to electing and appointing women abortion-rights supporters to public office." Boxer cited several recent pro-life action taken on Capitol Hill as evidence that abortion foes are making "it a little more difficult for women to exercise their constitutional right to end unwanted pregnancies." Last week, the Senate "rejected an effort to overturn a law" that bans abortions in overseas military hospitals. "A woman serving her country can't go and pay out of her pocket at a clean military base," Boxer said. "Instead, she has to go to her commanding officer and tell the whole story, then hitch a ride on a cargo plane to take care of the situation." Boxer also noted that "[a]bortion is no longer an insurance option for federal employees," and low-income women cannot seek insurance coverage for an abortion under Medicaid.
More Criticism For Congress
Criticizing the recent House vote to block Food and Drug Administration approval of RU-486, Boxer said, "It's an outrage the right-wing extremists are now trying to interfere with women's health options by interfering with the drug approval process." Boxer, who faces pro-life Republican Matt Fong in November, appealed to caucus members to support her re-election bid. "I need to go back to the Senate to hold the line against assaults against choice," she said. The AP/Bee reports that Boxer has introduced the Family Planning and Choice Protection Act -- legislation aimed "to codify Roe v. Wade," increase family planning program funds, boost safety measures at reproductive health clinics and repeal "the recently passed bills that limit abortions" (Bellisle, 6/28). Click here to read more Daily Report coverage of the abortion issue in the California elections.