Abortion foes picket Planned Parenthood

A pile of signs outside Planned Parenthood building October 10, 2015. (Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer)

WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a controversial abortion bill that advocates say is needed to protect the religious rights of those who oppose abortion.

Republicans said the legislation would prevent health care workers and others from being forced to assist or fund abortions against their will. They said the bill was drafted because the state of California now requires all insurance in the state - including policies provided by religious groups - to cover elective abortions.

"I think we can all agree that in this country, no one should be forced to perform an abortion," House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said on the House floor.

Democrats contended the "Conscience Protection Act" would let anti-abortion employers impose their views on workers by eliminating abortion coverage from their insurance. They said the vote was timed to excite "hardliners" before next week's GOP convention in Cleveland.

"Congress needs to stop interfering in women's health decisions once and for all," argued Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette, who opposed the bill.

The bill passed in a 245 to 182 party line vote. All Ohio's Republicans voted for it, and all Democrats opposed it.

"The House's vote today gives those willing to exercise their beliefs the option of using the court system if their employment is in jeopardy, instead of being at the mercy of a government bureaucracy," said a statement from Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs. "It is critical that we not only protect the unborn, but protect those whose livelihoods may be at stake for providing that protection."

The anti-abortion Family Research Council released a statement that noted the vote came "only one day after the Republican Party's platform committee adopted a plank protecting conscience rights" at a meeting in Cleveland.

"I applaud the House for voting to codify longstanding federal conscience protections, and to give pro-life victims of government discrimination the right to sue in court," said the group's president, Tony Perkins. "No person, organization or healthcare provider should ever be forced by the government to participate in the abhorrent act of abortion."

The White House said the bill would "limit women's health care choices," so President Obama would probably issue a veto if both houses of Congress adopt it.

Here's what Congress members on both sides of the issue said on the House of Representatives floor: