A Michigan congressman used his Facebook page last week to announce that he is planning to introduce legislation that would further limit access to abortions for women in Washington, DC.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) posted that his bill would “requir[e] minors in D.C. to receive their parents’ consent before having an abortion, prohibits non-doctors from performing abortions, and provides conscience protections for individuals and health care facilities in D.C. that refuse to perform abortions.”
House Republicans have long sought to ban abortion in the District. The House Republican budget for DC prevents “the city from using its own taxpayer money to pay for abortions for low-income women” and Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) recently introduced legislation that would ban abortions 20 weeks after gestation.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) condemned the latest Republican restrictions:
On Tuesday evening, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) decried Amash’s plans and ongoing efforts by the GOP to restrict abortions solely in the District.“Rep. Amash is spending time in the House meddling in my district, instead of attending to the needs of his own constituents,” she wrote in a statement. “His bill would overturn our local laws with no accountability to our residents.”
Amash’s bill could have a particularly debilitating effect on women who have been raped or are victims of incest, while more expansive conscience clauses significantly limit access to abortion procedures.