Abortion Bill Fails in Senate
WASHINGTON — A bill to criminalize taking minors over state lines for secret abortions failed late Friday in the Senate when Republicans were unable to get the 60 votes required to advance the bill to a final vote.
The vote stopped the bill from heading to the White House for Bush’s signature.
The House voted 264 to 153 Tuesday to approve the legislation, which would have made it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent to take a child over state lines for an abortion in an effort to circumvent parental involvement laws.
The vote was aimed at giving Republicans a shot at political redemption after a year that began and ended without Congress passing some major items on the agendas of social conservatives.
Republican leaders scheduled votes on some of those items, but bans on gay marriage and flag desecration failed.
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