This week's fight over abortion funding has long roots.

In 1973, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy, Congress first prohibited the use of foreign aid for abortion.

The logic was that while abortion may be legal, taxpayer money shouldn't pay for it.

On Saturday, the House followed a similar train of thought when it approved restrictions on abortion coverage in health insurance plans that receive government subsidies.

Abortion-rights advocates, meantime, argue that these restrictions hurt women in the most vulnerable positions in society — prisoners, the poor and even Peace Corps volunteers.

Below, we have compiled the major restrictions with the help of CQ researcher Frances Symes:

* Organizations receiving foreign aid. A 1973 bill barred foreign organizations or governments from using U.S. aid money for abortions. President Ronald Reagan later instituted a State Department policy, since overturned , which denied federal aid to international groups that provide abortions or abortion counseling.

* Legal aid lawyers. In 1974, Congress barred lawyers in federally funded legal aid programs from assisting women seeking an abortion.

* Medicaid recipients. First added to an annual Health and Human Services appropriations bill in 1976, the Hyde amendment bars the federal government from funding abortions through Medicaid, a program for low-income families, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is endangered. Currently, 17 states provide Medicaid funding for abortion from their own budgets.

* Members of the military and their families. Since 1978, Congress has barred abortion coverage for U.S. military personnel, their spouses and dependents. Starting in 1997, Congress has also barred abortions in military hospitals overseas even if they are paid for with private funds, with an exception for rape, incest or life endangerment.

* Peace Corps volunteers. Since 1979, volunteers in the Peace Corps have been barred from receiving federally subsidized abortions for any reason. However, the Peace Corps will pay to send the volunteer to a location where abortion is legal and medical facilities are available.

* Residents of the District of Columbia. Starting in 1979, the annual D.C. appropriations act has included restrictive abortion provisions on federal money. Those restrictions have since been extended to the District's own money, with exceptions for rape, incest or life endangerment.

* Federal employees. In 1983, an annual appropriations bill for federal employees' salaries was amended to bar abortion coverage with an exception for life endangerment. The restriction was reversed in 1993 and 1994, but was reinstated and expanded in 1995, with added exceptions for rape or incest.

* Prisoners. A continuing resolution in 1986 prohibited the funding of abortions in prison except where the life of the mother is endangered. This provision is now part of the annual spending bill, but it has been modified to include an exception for rape.

* Recipients of subsidized health insurance. The Stupak amendment to the House version of the Democratic health care overhaul that passed Saturday would prohibit coverage of abortion services in any health insurance plan that receives subsidies from the federal government.

Ryan Teague Beckwith is the deputy editor of Congress.org.