Bill Would Ban Abortions Based on Sex or Race

The practice of sex-selection abortion, usually targeting a female fetus due to parental preference for a son, has few defenders in the United States. Yet a proposed federal ban is drawing vehement opposition from liberal advocacy groups who call it a veiled attempt to undermine broader abortion rights.

The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., would outlaw abortions done on the basis of gender or race. Women who had such abortions would not be penalized but those who performed them — or pressured a woman into having one — would face up to five years in prison.

At a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday, supporters of the bill said passage would put the United States formally on record as opposing sex-selection abortions and prevent the country from becoming a "safe haven" for people from countries where the practice already is banned.

However, a witness speaking on behalf of an array of women's rights and abortion rights groups assailed the bill as "dangerous and duplicitous."

"Although this bill purports to support gender equity and civil rights, it does...