WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats hoping to overturn President Bush's ban on U.S. aid for groups that advocate abortion rights abroad presented witnesses Thursday to make a case that the policy will lead to misery and death.

The Bush policy restricts family planning, not abortions, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Boxer has introduced legislation to overturn the policy.

Democrats have been critical of the policy since Bush issued it during his first week in office.

GOP leaders have accused foreign organizations of shifting money around to pay for abortion efforts. The Bush policy prohibits $425 million in U.S. aid for global population assistance from going to groups that counsel women about abortion.

``We would not hire the Tobacco Institute to run an anti-smoking campaign - not even if the organization carried out its pro-tobacco activities with 'its own money,'' said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who opposes abortion rights.

``There is just too strong a conflict of interest and too high a probability of sending a mixed and confusing message to the people we are trying to reach,'' Smith said.

Democrats said the measure, which they call a global gag rule, isn't needed since a 1973 law already prevents foreign organizations from using U.S.-provided money to finance abortions. They complain the bill violates free-speech rights while causing scores of international family-planning organizations to lose money needed for Pap smears and HIV testing.

Republicans, however, argued that the money is still available for organizations not associated with abortion. Millions more have been made available for HIV prevention, they said.

``We are the largest bilateral provider of voluntary family planning and related health services,'' said Alan Kreczko, an acting assistant secretary of state. ``We expect that to remain the case for years to come.''

Boxer's bill to overturn the rule will face serious trouble in Congress because it runs counter to efforts in the Republican-led House.

House Republicans have been vigorous about pursuing an anti-abortion agenda since Bush's election. Already, the House has passed a provision preserving Bush's policy on international aid.

Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee postponed until Friday what is expected to be certain approval of a bill that would ensure that a fetus breathing when it leaves a mother's womb, even during an abortion procedure, would be treated as a person under federal law.

The Senate hearing on foreign aid came one day after the Bush administration had to attest in a federal court in New York that a Peruvian abortion rights activist would not be penalized for criticizing the aid policy during a hearing.

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Law and Policy had asked for a court order barring the Bush administration from imposing restrictions. The judge said the order wasn't necessary because of the government's assurance. The group still has a pending lawsuit to declare the policy unconstitutional.

The activist, Susana Galdos Silva, told the committee her efforts to legalize abortion in her country are stymied by the U.S. policy. ``In the face of serious problems such as sexual abuse, dangerous abortion practices and alarming rates of maternal mortality, how can the U.S. tell us we must be silent?''