Missing from the House Republicans' agriculture funding bill is a provision to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, The Hill reported.
The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee publicly released the bill Monday. A similar effort last year helped to doom the plan when it exposed intraparty divides on the issue, The Hill noted.
Absent from the bill is wording that GOP lawmakers had previously sought as part of their fiscal 2024 agricultural funding plan that aimed to nullify a Biden administration rule allowing mifepristone to be purchased in pharmacies and sent by mail.
Republicans had struggled to pass the previous bill because of opposition from moderates, The Hill said. In addition, abortion remains a major issue for some voters as the November elections approach.
Americans are divided on whether women should have to see a doctor in person before receiving abortion pills, a May Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
About 67% of Republican respondents and 37% of Democrats said they were in favor of the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, Reuters reported.
Some 50% of respondents in the May 7-14 survey said they supported an in-person doctor visit requirement for abortion medication, while 33% said they opposed that rule; 17% said they were unsure.
The newly released bill funds the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, The Hill said. The proposed legislation calls for more than $25 billion in total discretionary funding for fiscal 2025, which is below current levels
"This year, the Agriculture Appropriations bill also focuses on elevating the nutrition needs of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants by giving states a chance to participate in a pilot program that restricts unhealthy food," said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chair of the subcommittee that came up with the plan.