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Published: June 24, 2009

Tiller resolution blocked in U.S. Senate

California’s Barbara Boxer at forefront of standoff that led to measure’s downfall

California Sen. Barbara Boxer was among three main sponsors of a resolution in the U.S. Senate last week that would have added the term “reproductive health care” to a similar measure adopted unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month lamenting the slaying of late-term abortionist George Tiller.

Boxer joined with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – all Democrats – in an attempt to add language to the House-passed resolution that drew strenuous opposition from pro-life lawmakers and ultimately resulted in the Senate passing no resolution on the Tiller matter.

The House resolution – HR 505 – was adopted June 9 by a vote of 423-0. HR 505 lamented Tiller’s killing in “his place of worship,” offered the House’s condolences to the Tiller family and condemned a growing trend of slayings at churches and synagogues. Notably absent from the House resolution was any mention of what Tiller did for a living or any mention of abortion-related violence of any kind.

When the issue reached the Senate, Boxer, Shaheen and Klobuchar introduced a measure that went well beyond the House version, making the issue of “reproductive health care” for women and “violence against providers of reproductive health care” central to the resolution. Pro-lifers in the Senate objected, noting that “reproductive health care” is a code word for abortion and that, as written, the Senate resolution would have the effect of praising abortion and glorifying abortion providers.

Sponsors of the measure in the Senate were told that, if they would remove all “reproductive health care” references from the resolution and provide language similar to the one adopted in the House, pro-life senators would likely vote for it. But Boxer, Shaheen and Klobuchar refused – and it became quickly apparent their proposed resolution would not get the unanimous vote they were seeking. According to the Minnesota Independent, on June 18 “an anonymous Republican senator moved to use the rarely seen ‘secret hold,’ preventing it from coming to a vote.” Such ‘secret holds’ are permitted under Standing Senate Rules and allow a senator or group of senators to anonymously stop a motion from reaching a floor vote.

The measure’s failure prompted Shaheen’s press office to issue a news release entitled, “Shaheen, Boxer, Klobuchar denounce obstruction of resolution condemning violence against women’s health care providers.” The June 18 release summarized what had happened this way: “Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning violence in places of worship. Shaheen, Boxer and Klobuchar were asked to adopt the House language in the Senate, but decided to move forward with their resolution, as they feel condemning violence against women's health care providers and agreeing not to use violence as a means of resolving differences are not objectionable viewpoints.”

Instead, said the release, “The resolution faced objection by some colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and the Senators were urged to eliminate references to women's reproductive health care in order to unanimously pass the resolution.”

"I realize that the issue of reproductive choice is divisive and that there are many heartfelt feelings on both sides of the aisle," said Shaheen in the release. "However, I was hopeful that, regardless of our differences of opinion on this sensitive issue, the Senate could come together and pass a resolution that rejects the use of violence against women's health care providers. It is a sad day when the elected leaders of the greatest Democracy on earth can't agree to protect those exercising their constitutional rights."

Boxer was quoted in the release as saying, "Everyone has the right to work for changes in the law, but there is no place for violence in any of our debates. To assault a health care worker, a patient or anyone else because of a disagreement about an issue, regardless of how contentious, brings all of humanity down into a dark pit of violence."

California’s other senator, Dianne Feinstein, was also listed as a co-sponsor of the resolution, but apparently played no major role in the language confrontation that led to its apparent demise.

Tiller was shot and killed on May 31 while serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. Every major pro-life organization in the U.S. condemned the slaying immediately and denounced any use of violence in efforts to save the unborn.

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