(WOMENSENEWS)The House of Representatives upheld the global gag rule by just eight votes and seven of them were cast by Republican women. Two women did not cast votes.
Wednesday’s roll call vote was 218-210 over whether Congress would overturn a controversial presidential executive order issued by Bush on his first day in office.
The seven GOP women were the only women in the 435-member House to support the ban on funds to international organizations providing reproductive health care services that use their own money to lobby their governments for abortion rights or inform their patients about abortion. A separate federal law prevents these agencies from using U.S. funds to perform abortions.
The House has 59 women. The seven GOP women casting yes votes to uphold the global gag rule were:
Mary Bono, California; Barbara Cubin, Wyoming; Jo Ann Davis, Virginia; Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri; Melissa A. Hart, Pennsylvania; Anne M. Northup, Kentucky; Heather Y. Wilson, New Mexico.
The two women nonvoters were Democrat Darlene Hooley of Oregon and Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
Eight Republican women broke ranks and voted against the global gag rule:Judy Biggert, Illinois; Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia; Jennifer Dunn, Washington; Kay Granger, Texas; Nancy L. Johnson, Connecticut; Sue W. Kelly, New York; Constance A. Morella, Maryland; Marge Roukema, New Jersey.
