Reid vows to kill trafficking bill over abortion funding restrictions

Two weeks ago, Senate Democrats and Republicans found something to agree on: Human trafficking should be stopped. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act sailed out of the judiciary committee with a unanimous vote and headed for a vote in the full Senate. No one feared its demise.

That was before March 10, when Senate Democrats cried foul after discovering the Hyde Amendment language contained in the bill. A new fund created to help victims of sex trafficking could not be used to fund abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or risk to the life of the mother.

When confronted about the Democrats’ co-sponsorship, which critics said meant lawmakers must have known the bill’s contents, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, “We didn’t know it was in the bill, and … the bill will not come off this floor as long as that language is in the bill.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who introduced the bill, noted the Hyde Amendment has long been the law of the land and insisted its mention in the bill was part of the text Democrats sponsored and supported from the beginning. The bill’s bipartisan roster of Senate co-sponsors includes Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), with the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

The legislation clarifies what conduct could be punished as sex trafficking, and includes stiff federal penalties for buyers. It also mandates the confiscation of traffickers’ property and assets. And it includes provisions for a Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps, “where returning military heroes of the United States are trained and hired to investigate crimes of child exploitation, target predators, and rescue children from sexual slavery.”

Ninety anti-trafficking organizations, via the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, signed a letter to Senate leaders urging them to find a bi-partisan approach to move the bill forward. But not all anti-trafficking advocates support it. GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services), a New York-based advocacy group for young survivors, expressed concern the bill prioritizes funding for law enforcement at the expense of victims. The group also objects to the provision that would charge johns (those who purchase sex) as traffickers: “While johns absolutely need to face consequences, … trafficking and buying have two very different motivations and should be addressed differently.”

Planned Parenthood has lobbied senators to vote against the measure. Pro-life groups say the debate demonstrates just how far abortion advocates are willing to go to seek federal funding for abortions.

“If ever there was an issue that should be above partisan politics, this is it,”said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.