Congressional negotiators announced Thursday they have reached agreement on a bill that will rewrite the bankruptcy laws, making it much harder for millions of Americans to obtain bankruptcy protection. It is a major victory for credit card companies.

The agreement came as negotiators reached a compromise on an abortion rights provision which had threatened to scuttle the entire bill.

The compromise will restrict the ability of anti-abortion protesters to use the bankruptcy laws to shield themselves from paying court fines resulting from protesting and harassing abortion clinics.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban a procedure that anti-abortionists call “partial-birth” abortion.

The Supreme Court struck down a similar bill in Nebraska, partially because it banned the procedure even if the woman’s health was in danger.

Rather than add a health exception, the new House bill includes a Congressional “finding” that the procedure is never necessary to protect the woman’s health.

Guest:

• Janet Crepps, attorney with the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.

Related link:

• Center for Reproductive Law and Policy