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504 Cannon House Office
Building · Washington, DC 20515 For Immediate
Release Stop
Partial Birth Abortion Although
abortion is a controversial issue, there is a form of abortion over
which there should be no argument. Partial birth abortion is so
gruesome and barbaric as to be beyond the pale of any nation wishing
to call itself civilized.
What happens during a partial birth abortion is so horrible
that all Americans should stand united in urging Congress to end the
practice forever.
Common ground can be hard to achieve in politics, but in the
face of something this grisly, both parties should be unified. Those who defend
partial birth abortion argue that it must be kept legal to protect
the health of the mother.
This argument is not based on medical science. Former Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop says partial birth abortion is “never medically
necessary to protect a mother’s life or her future fertility. On the contrary, this
procedure can pose a significant threat to both.” The American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that, “there are no
circumstances under which this procedure would be the only option to
save the life of the mother and preserve the health of the
woman.” Likewise, in
1995 a panel of 12 doctors representing the American Medical
Association, voted unanimously to recommend banning partial birth
abortion, calling it “basically repulsive.” There is, in
fact, no justification or need for this procedure. The claim that it is
sometimes necessary cannot be supported. Partial birth abortion is
quite plainly infanticide.
It is in every case unjustifiable and in no case the lesser
of two evils. There is
no excuse for it and it should be made illegal immediately. Why do I place
so much force behind my words?
Unlike conventional abortions, partial birth abortion
involves inducing labor and partially delivering a
nearly-always-viable baby, followed by stabbing the child in the
back of the head and vacuuming out his or her brain. That this happened to as
many as 5,000 American children last year is shocking and
horrible. But it is not
illegal. That is why
Congress has repeatedly voted to ban partial birth abortion. The ban has each time passed
by large margins and with broadly bipartisan support. And each time the President
has vetoed it. It is
here that politics seem to supercede common sense in
Washington. A large majority
of Americans want the procedure banned. More than two-thirds of the
House of Representatives has voted repeatedly to ban it. Nearly two-thirds of the
Senate has done the same.
These votes have been made not only on the basis of strongly
held public opinion, but also on the basis of established medical
science. Only the
President and his veto pen stand between the will of the people and
enactment of a legal ban of the procedure. That the President would
take such an extremist position is a disappointment to most
Americans. The House of
Representatives has voted again to ban this procedure. The Senate has already
passed it. When it
comes to the President’s desk, he should ignore the arguments of his
most extremist supporters and sign the bill. The American people want
it. Congress supports
it. And it is the right
thing to do. # # # |
