WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee is scheduled to vote on a bill that would ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The House Judiciary Committee had planned to vote on the bill last week but didn’t take it up because of a crowded agenda. The bill is expected to be sent to the House floor.

The legislation is based on the disputed claim that fetuses can feel pain at a gestational age of 20 weeks or older. The National Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion group, has made the bill its top priority on Capitol Hill this year. Nine states have passed similar legislation.

Opponents call the bill an attempt to undermine a woman’s right to an abortion and an intrusion upon the district’s self-rule.

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