[JURIST] A bill that would make consumers satisfy a series of requirements before being permitted to cancel their debts through bankruptcy is close to passage in the US Senate. On Tuesday the Senate killed what some Republicans called a "poisoned pill" - a proposed Democratic amendment that would have prohibited anti-abortion protestors and other engaged in violent protest from using bankruptcy to avoid paying fines, a provision which halted a similar bill from passing through the House of Representatives in 2003. The bankruptcy bill, supported by credit card companies, will likely be passed later this week, as a number of Democratic attempts to soften the measure have now been struck down [JURIST report]. Bloomberg has more. The bill summary and status [text] is available from THOMAS.