Birth control bill gains momentum

WASHINGTON — Rep. Olympia J. Snowe has teamed up with Democrat Pat Schroeder of Colorado to lobby anti-abortion lawmakers on Snowe’s bill that would substantially increase birth control research.

The bill would nearly double federal funding for birth control research by authorizing more than $77 million over five years to create five federal research centers.

“We’re certainly going to promote and push it as much as we can because the best way to minimize abortion is to create more (contraceptive) options,” Snowe said.

Should the measure become law, three of the research centers would conduct research on new methods for birth control. The other two would study potential treatments for infertility.

While many anti-abortion lawmakers refuse to support any measure that could be viewed as condoning premarital sex, others view the Snowe-Schroeder bill as an acceptable middle ground on the issue, and the measure seems to be gaining support on capital hill amid the divisive abortion debate.

Snowe cited several recent events as evidence of growing support for the bill, which has not been debated in committee yet.

Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, R-Ore., an active abortion opponent, sponsored a companion birth control bill last week along with Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and Oregon Sen. Bob Packwood. Sen. William S. Cohen is a co-sponsor.

The Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, which Snowe and Schroeder co-chair, has endorsed the bill. That was considered a major victory because several of the group’s members are opposed to abortion.