WASHINGTON (AP) — A House proposal to ban almost all abortions after a fetus reaches the age of 20 weeks has been revised to include rape and incest exceptions after the Republican sponsor raised a storm by saying that very few rapes result in pregnancies.
The change to the bill scheduled to come up for a full vote in the House next week came after Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that incidents of rape "resulting in pregnancy are very low." Franks later revised his comment, but Democrats jumped on it as another example of GOP insensitivity toward women.
The Judiciary Committee approved the legislation after rejecting a Democratic amendment that would have allowed for exceptions in the event of rape and incest.
