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HELENA - An attempt to revive a bill that would use state money to pay for family planning clinics was quickly shot down by the House on Saturday.

Representatives voted 48-50 not to draw the bill out of the House Appropriations Committee, where it had been tabled. Passing such a motion required 60 votes.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Bergren, D-Havre, said family planning clinics around the state desperately needed state funding because of federal cutbacks and rising birth-control costs. But Rep. Jack Wells, R-Bozeman, said the state already spends too much on social services, and practically supports some people for their lifetimes.

Speaker of the House Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, allowed only limited debate before the motion was defeated.

The vote came moments after the House voted to remove $2.3 million in family-planning money from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services' budget.

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