President Obama would likely veto a ban on abortion past the midway point of pregnancy, the White House said Tuesday.
The GOP-led House plans to vote Thursday on a bill restricting abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the idea that a fetus can feel pain beyond that point. The vote will take place the same day as anti-abortion activists participate in the annual March for Life.
While supporters of the bill say it’s a reasonable limit on mid- and late-term abortions — and one that a majority of the public supports — the administration called it an “assault on a woman’s right to choose.”
The measure also goes against the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that women have a right to privacy, which includes getting an abortion, the administration said.
“Women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care, and government should not inject itself into decisions best made between a woman and her doctor,” says a statement from the Office of Management and Budget.
The provision would allow abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy only if the woman seeking it is a victim of rape or incest and has reported the crime to a law enforcement agency or child welfare authority.
Including the reporting requirement — which some Republican women have objected to — demonstrates “a complete disregard for the women who experience sexual assault and the barriers they may face in reporting,” the administration said.
