The Times Mirror Company, Los Angeles Times - May 25, 1995, Thursday, Orange County Edition SECTION: METRO; PAGE: B-1
Gebe Martinez; Times Staff Writer

The vote to deny abortion services--at their own expense--to military personnel and their families stationed overseas was quickly denounced by women's rights activists as "the first serious rollback of the right to choose [an abortion] in the new Congress."

"Anti-choice members of Congress are so intent on paying back radical right supporters who want to take away abortion rights that they will even discriminate against women who have volunteered to serve their country," said Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

While the outcome of the votes on both provisions was never in doubt, debate was waged for nearly two hours over the need to thrust the highly charged political issues into a discussion of military readiness.

The proposals were contained in the defense bill drafted by Dornan's subcommittee on military personnel, which calls for halting military force downsizing and increasing benefits for service members. It also ends military pay for personnel jailed for a court-martial.

Neither the abortion provision nor the one affecting HIV-positive personnel were expected to pass in the Senate.

Approval of the provision to discharge service members who are HIV-positive was a personal victory for Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who lost a bipartisan House floor vote last year on a similar measure. The measure has been characterized by gay rights activists as homophobic.

During the committee meeting Wednesday, Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Long Beach) tried to delete the HIV regulation from the bill, citing Defense Department claims that current law already gives the Pentagon the authority to deal with this issue.

"There's no reason for this committee and this Congress to micromanage this one issue," she said, adding that of the 1,400 service members who were HIV-positive at the end of last year, 300 have been discharged by the Defense Department.

Joining the Democrats was Rep. Peter G. Torkildsen (R-Mass.), who called the proposed regulation a "very narrow and punitive" restriction.

But in a spirited defense of his legislation, Dornan jabbed critics, claiming they were being driven by "politically correct garbage."

Dornan also passionately argued that service members who test positive for HIV impair the nation's military readiness because they are banned from overseas deployment. He described them as sitting behind desks with their feet propped up while healthy personnel are forced to spend more time overseas and away from their families to meet military needs.

The division between Democrats and Republicans was more blurred on the second social issue vote: banning the use of the Pentagon's medical facilities to perform abortions "unless necessary to save the life of the mother." Still, the conservatives prevailed.

Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) said it was unfair to take away a constitutional right from women who are serving to protect those rights.

The only Republican woman on the panel, Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-Fla.), said she would vote to maintain the abortion services overseas because taxpayer funding was not involved.

But Dornan said taxpayers' money is used when one considers the cost of utilities and support staff to maintain the service.

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