Don Nickles: “Well, last year the House and the Senate agreed to language that said we are not going to use Federal taxpayers' money…”

“Well, last year the House and the Senate agreed to language that said we are not going to use Federal taxpayers' money to include abortion as a fringe benefit in health care plans except in cases of rape and incest and to protect the life of the mother. One of my colleagues mentioned, well, we should be consistent. That was the policy of the Federal Government, frankly, from 1984 to 1993, until Bill Clinton became President. He changed it. That lasted in 1994 and 1995. We changed it last year. We had a vote. We actually had a kind of unusual session. We had a Saturday session. We had three votes on it and basically ended up with the policy that the Senator from Ohio is trying to maintain. What is that policy? That policy is the same thing that was in the House language, that being that Federal taxpayers' moneys will not be used to provide abortions for Federal employees unless necessary to protect the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.”