NATION : Bush Will Veto Rape and Incest Abortion Bill, White House Says
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WASHINGTON — President Bush will veto a bill allowing federally financed abortions in cases of rape and incest after giving up efforts to find a compromise, his spokesman said today.
White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said the provision, part of a spending bill already approved by a House-Senate conference committee and the full House, will be vetoed once it wins final Senate approval.
The White House had previously hinted that a veto was likely. Today, Fitzwater said it flatly.
The White House abandoned the bid for a compromise after Chief of Staff John H. Sununu met for a second day Monday with leading anti-abortion congressmen.
“We talked to people on all sides of the issue. . . . We couldn’t find any flexibility,” Fitzwater said today.
Bush last week he said he was seeking “room for flexibility” to avert a veto.
Congressional Democratic leaders have already conceded that they do not have enough votes to override a veto of the measure, which has already passed the House.
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