WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - The US Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a new law governing personal bankruptcy that included a provision narrowly targeting pro-lifers convicted of civil disobedience at abortion clinics.

    The Senate voted 80-17 for the law which included an amendment that said people found to have violated laws protecting abortion clinics could not escape fines or civil judgements against them through bankruptcy debt restructuring. The law was prompted by the case of Operation Rescue found Randall Terry who filed for bankruptcy in November 1998 blaming court-ordered fines to abortion groups and clinics.

    Although most Republicans initially opposed the amendment to the bill, but abandoned their opposition when Vice President Al Gore announced he was returning from presidential campaigning for any possible tie-breaker. Some lawmakers wanted to prevent Gore from using the vote to advance his own political credentials. "With this amendment, nobody will be able to politically demagogue this issue," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said shortly before the vote.

    Gore has been criticized in recent weeks during the campaign for his flip-flop from seeming pro-life views early on in his legislative career to a pro-abortion stance and then denying the switch during a campaign debate.