Reid loses bid to pass abortion clinic legislation

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., lost his bid to pass legislation that would have barred abortion clinic protesters from declaring bankruptcy to avoid legal penalties.

Reid, who opposes abortion, had a personal connection to the legislation. Slain New York abortion doctor Barnett Slepian was the uncle of a former Reid staffer, Reid said. Anti-abortion extremist James Kopp was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 killing.

"Of course she was heartbroken over the fact that her uncle was murdered," Reid said.

Reid co-sponsored the legislation introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as an amendment to a broader bill that would make it more difficult to declare personal bankruptcy. In what was the first vote on an abortion-related issue in the new Congress, the the Democrat-backed amendment failed Tuesday on a largely party-line 53-46 vote.

Schumer and Reid tried to battle back Republicans who said the legislation didn't belong in the bankruptcy bill. Republicans said the amendment would have a chilling effect on the free-speech rights of protesters. Amendment foes also noted that bankruptcy courts typically do not absolve protesters from paying legal penalties.

Reid said the legislation was aimed at violent offenders who targeted not just abortion clinics, but "terrorist" activists who attacked animal-testing laboratories, car dealerships, timber companies and churches.

"All of these extremists must be held accountable for their actions," Reid said. "This is not about abortion. It's about maintaining the law."

Passage of the Schumer amendment ultimately doomed the broader bankruptcy bill in 2002 and could have had the same effect this year because the Republican-held House opposes the legislation.

The Senate likely will approve the bankruptcy bill this week, with House approval expected soon.