WASHINGTON - A bill by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., to ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to pass the House Tuesday.
The House voted 220-154 for the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, well shy of the 250 votes needed to make up the two-thirds of those present to pass.
It is the second such defeat this summer for Franks. In May, his bill that would have outlawed abortions based on the race or gender of a fetus was supported 246-168 but was also shy of the 276 votes needed to pass as a special measure.
The latest bill faced sharp criticism from Democrats, who accused supporters of meddling in the city's affairs and using the D.C. bill to win favor with anti-abortion groups.
"The bill has no provision whatsoever for a woman that has been the victim of rape or incest," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who said that a girl who is a victim of incest could conceivably be compelled to "bear her sibling."
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Supporters said the bill is needed to protect the rights of unborn children and to spare them from the pain that they argued a fetus can feel at 20 weeks.
