Abortion Clinic Access Bill Clears House : Legislation: The measure, passed in wake of attacks, would make it a federal crime to bar entry or to use violence against staff or patients.

WASHINGTON —  Alarmed by a rising wave of abortion-related violence, the House on Thursday approved legislation that makes it a federal crime to block access to abortion clinics or to use violence to injure or intimidate clinic staffs or their patients.

Abortion foes used a series of parliamentary tactics to delay passage but they could not stop the House from approving the measure, called the Freedom of Access bill by its sponsors, on a 241-174 vote. It now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to win final congressional approval next week.

“The right to choose is meaningless without the access to choose,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) in a statement that seemed to reflect the prevailing sentiment in the House.

Although final approval of the measure was never in doubt, opponents forced several procedural votes to delay the outcome and underscore their displeasure with what they described as a one-sided and possibly unconstitutional measure restricting demonstrations outside abortion clinics.

The bill was “designed not to prevent violence but to discourage pro-life protests” by making an “individual’s pro-life convictions a thought crime,” Rep. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) charged. It puts “a congressional stamp of approval on the pro-abortion side of the debate,” he said.

But supporters denied that the legislation would prevent abortion foes from staging peaceful protests outside clinics and said the need for the measure was underscored by a sharp rise in serious attacks aimed at abortion providers last year.

These included several acts of arson, one bombing and the murder in March last year of an abortion doctor in Florida.

“Differences honestly held, though deeply in conflict, cannot be allowed to violate the rights of others,” Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) said in support of the measure. “My right to swing my arm ends at your nose.”

The bill, which President Clinton is expected to sign as soon as the Senate acts, imposes penalties of up to 18 months in jail for people who use force or the threat of force to injure or otherwise prevent anyone from entering an abortion clinic.

Stiffer sentences, ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, would be imposed in the event of serious bodily injury or death.

Both houses of Congress had approved slightly different versions of the legislation last November. A compromise version then was worked out by Senate and House negotiators and sent back for final approval.

The House originally passed legislation that contained tougher penalties than the Senate version. House negotiators in the conference committee agreed to a Senate provision that would exempt from the new federal penalties parents who try to prevent their teen-age children from obtaining abortions.

Women’s groups hailed the result as the most significant piece of abortion rights legislation to win approval in Congress.

“It will help us fight clinic violence and, most importantly, provide jurisdiction for the FBI and the Justice Department to investigate acts of clinic violence,” Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal said.