Liberal groups deliver abortion petition to Boehner

Liberal groups say they delivered a petition with close to 135,000 signatures to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday, as a way of protesting a bill that would roll back tax credits for private employers that offer healthcare plans that cover abortion. 

NARAL Pro-Choice America, EMILY’s List and MoveOn.org handed over the petition on April 15 — which is usually the tax filing deadline — because they say the bill could force women who have had abortions into IRS audits.

The liberal magazine Mother Jones reported last month that, in an audit, the woman could have to prove that her plan did not cover abortions or that she was covered by the legislation’s exception for rape, incest or her own health. 

“Speaker Boehner’s far-reaching War on Women has spurred pro-choice Americans into action,” Nancy Keenan, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. “Our voices will not soon be silenced. Boehner and his allies will continue to hear from outraged Americans through petitions, phone calls, protests and most importantly, at the ballot box in 2012.”

A Boehner spokesman did not return a request for comment.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act was introduced this Congress by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), a lawmaker who strongly opposes abortion rights. 

Top GOP lawmakers have called ensuring that no taxpayer money goes toward abortions a priority. The House Judiciary Committee has already passed the Smith measure, which is also expected to clear the chamber as a whole. A separate bill dealing with the same issue has cleared the House Ways and Means Committee as well. 

Democrats, meanwhile, have said the Republican push on the issue illustrates that the GOP is not concentrating on job creation and the economy.