World Magazine has a great article today by Jamie Dean about abortion policy. You can check it out here. To view a PDF copy, click here.

Excerpts below:

For Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), it isn't that simple. The pro-life congressman also wants to reduce the number of abortions but said he couldn't support the legislation for one major reason: It sends money to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the country. He offered an amendment that would prohibit federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood receives more than $300 million in federal funding each year for family-planning services. (That's about one-third of the group's operating budget.) The organization says it abides by federal rules that don't allow the group to use the government funds for abortion services. But Pence says that the funds could be used to offset Planned Parenthood's operational costs, freeing up money for abortion services.

Pence's amendment failed, 189-231, but mustered significant support, including 20 Democrats who voted for the amendment. Congressional Quarterly called the showdown one of the biggest abortion fights since Democrats took over Congress.

Pence told WORLD he plans to introduce the amendment each year, following the example of William Wilberforce, who successfully fought the British slave trade: "He fought slavery and eventually won by taking the profit out of the slave trade."

The congressman hopes his efforts will be bolstered by last month's request by 60 pro-life leaders for Congress to suspend Planned Parenthood's federal funding while one of the group's affiliates in Kansas faces a 107-count criminal complaint (see "One for the books," Nov. 3).