Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Re-Introduced, 
Chances Look Good

February 20, 2003—Washington, DC: On the heels of election victories in the 2002 midterm elections, pro-life lawmakers hope to pass several pro-life bills and send them to President Bush for his signature.

Following the introduction of a bill to ban all forms of human cloning, pro-life Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) has introduced a bill to ban partial-birth abortions with a bipartisan list of over 100 co-sponsors. President Bush, who opposes abortion, has vowed to sign it.

"It's time for Congress to act and place this bill in front of the president so that we can finally end this national tragedy," said Rep. Chabot.

"While I expect that some of the Senate's most zealous pro-abortion advocates will again attempt to block this legislation, I am confident that we will finally be able to pass this ban into law."

Congress passed the measure in 1996 and 1997, but President Clinton vetoed it both times. The House passed the measure again last year by a margin of 274 to 151, its fourth vote to ban the procedure. However, the Senate, then controlled by Democrats, never took up the measure. Pro-life groups hope the change in leadership in the Senate from Democrats to Republicans will make a difference.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman, pro-life Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), said GOP leaders hope to get the bill passed by the full House before the Easter break.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 three years ago to strike down a Nebraska law banning the gruesome abortion procedure, saying the law did not adequately define the procedure and that its lack of a so-called health exemption imposed an unconstitutional "undue burden" on women.

John C. Willke, MD, president of Life Issues Institute, takes issue with the court's reasoning.

"When talking about the partial birth abortion procedure, we must remember: it's a very specific type of abortion done after viability. 80% of the babies killed have been normal. It is not needed to save the mother's life, or her physical health, and, from testimony of the abortionists themselves, we know that most of these abortions are purely elective," Willke explained.

Pro-life groups said those abortion advocates who oppose a ban are not acting in the best interests of women.

"Women who undergo late abortions experience the physical pain of days of induced labor and the psychological pain of witnessing the destruction and disposal of their baby," said Cathy Cleaver, spokesperson for the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.

"No compassionate person wants to see women suffer the personal tragedy of abortion, and those who experience an abortion later in pregnancy are especially vulnerable to post-abortion trauma. Only the most radical abortion proponents can continue to defend what is so clearly indefensible."

The bill is H.R. 760.