BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Four Democratic lawmakers boycotted a legislative committee on Thursday in protest of an anti-abortion bill they perceive as a waste of taxpayer money.
Republican members on the House State Affairs Committee passed the measure Thursday without the Democrats in attendance.
The measure, called the Unborn Infants Dignity Act, would forbid clinics from donating fetal tissue. It would also ban research centers and universities from using tissue for research.
The bill is a response to undercover videos released last summer that alleged that Planned Parenthood officials were selling fetal tissue for profit.
However, the videos were later determined to be altered and a Texas Grand Jury indicted two anti-abortion advocates involved in making the videos.
Democratic Rep. Melissa Wintrow, of Boise says lawmakers should be discussing education, the economy and Medicaid expansion.
