Anti-choice amendment to foreign funding bill fails in Senate

In a 42 to 58 roll call vote on July 14, the Senate rejected an anti-choice amendment introduced by Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) during floor debate on the fiscal 1995 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The amendment would have proscribed the use of federal dollars for lobbying foreign governments to change their abortion policies. Among the activities that would have been prohibited were efforts by federal agencies and officers of the executive branch, including support for resolutions or participation in activities of multilateral organizations that seek to change or alter abortion laws. In addition, the amendment sought to forbid the use of federal funds by any multilateral or private organization that seeks to alter abortion laws or policies. Many members of the Senate opposed the amendment because it would have restricted United States involvement in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which will be held in Cairo, Egypt, in September 1994. The amendment was also seen as an attack on the Clinton Administration's policy that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare."