(multimedia) The debate over a bill that would ban sex-selective abortions became red-hot Thursday in the run-up to an expected floor vote, as Republicans used the vote to try to shame Democrats who might oppose it.
The proposal would make it a federal crime to carry out an abortion based on the gender of the fetus. The measure takes aim at the aborting of female fetuses, a practice more common to countries such India and China, where there is a strong preference for sons, but which is also thought to take place in the U.S.
The White House and Democratic lawmakers oppose the bill out of concern that it could end up subjecting doctors to strict punishment, suggesting the law would be difficult to follow.
“The administration opposes gender discrimination in all forms, but the end result of this legislation would be to subject doctors to criminal prosecution if they fail to determine the motivations behind a very personal and private decision,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday.
But GOP lawmakers pointed to the opposition as further proof of the administration’s abortion advocacy.
“It is inconceivable to me how our Nobel Prize-winning president can refuse to protect little girls from the violence of sex-selection abortion,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said Thursday.
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