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Finally, the legislation restricts the use of this Presidential waiver authority in specific cases. The President

[Page: S4461]  GPO's PDF

   As a nation, we are letting unilateral sanctions isolate ourselves. Let me demonstrate why:

   A CRS report on January 22, 1998 listed a total of 97 unilateral sanctions now in place.

   A study by the National Association of Manufacturers found that from 1993-1996, the U.S. imposed unilateral sanctions 61 times against 35 countries. These 35 nations make up 42% of world population and 19% of world's $790 billion export market.

   A study by the International Institute of Economics estimates that in 1995 alone unilateral sanctions cost Americans $15-20 billion in lost exports ..... which resulted in 200,000 lost jobs.

   The National Foreign Trade Council has identified 41 separate legislative statutes on the books that either require or authorize the imposition of unilateral sanctions.

   Repeated use of sanctions undermines confidence in America as a reliable supplier. Even after sanctions are lifted, Americans find it difficult or impossible to regain export markets.

   Mr. President, each of the three bills I mentioned addresses an important feature of ending the overuse of unilateral economic sanctions. The Lugar bill would create a process for producing more effective sanctions policies for the future. The Hagel bill would exempt food and medicine from all unilateral economic sanctions. The Dodd bill is a final, critical reform. It would allow the President, with congressional review, to waive those sanctions laws that have become outdated and no longer serve U.S. national interests.

   Again, I congratulate my colleague from Connecticut for his leadership on this issue. I am pleased to join him in introducing the Sanctions Rationalization Act.

   By Mr. SANTORUM (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. LOTT, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. BOND, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. BURNS, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. ENZI, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. Frist, Mr. GORTON, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HATCH, Mr. HELMS, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. KYL, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. MACK, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. NICKLES, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. VOINOVICH, and Mr. WARNER):

   S. 928, A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abort ions; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

   THE PARTIAL BIRTH ABORT ION BA N ACT OF 1999

   Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Partial Birth Abort ion Ba n Act. Th is bill is identical to the legislation endorsed by the American Medical Association (AMA) and vetoed by President Clinton in October, 1997. This bill is narrowly written to prohibit one particularly gruesome, inhumane, and medically unaccepted late term abortion method, exc ept when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother.

   Also known as Intact Dilation Evacuation or Intrauterine Cranial Decompression, a partial birth abort ion is performe d over a three day period during the second or third trimester. After the cervix is dilated over a two-day period, the doctor begins the actual abortion on the thir d day. Once the doctor turns the baby into the breech position, he delivers all but the head through the birth canal. At t his point the child is still alive. Then, the doctor stabs the baby in the base of its skull with curved scissors and uses a suction catheter to remove the child's brain. This procedure kills the baby. After the skull collapses, the doctor completes the delivery.

   Partial birth abort ions a re performed as outpatient procedures in clinics. They are usually done on healthy 20-25 week olds with healthy mothers. Estimates suggest as many as 5000 are performed annually in the U.S. We know of 1500 per year in one New Jersey clinic.

   The American public finds this procedure repugnant. A growing consensus in the medical community considers it unnecessary and even unethical. Yet the reason this horrific procedure is still legal in the United States is because President Clinton has twice vetoed legislation that would have outlawed partial birth abort ion, e xcept in cases of maternal life endangerment.

   The lies propagated by proponents of partial birth abort ion ha ve taken on a life of their own. First, we were told--and by we I mean Congress--there was no such thing as partial birth abort ion. T hree year s after Dr. Martin Haskell, a pioneer of this technique, described it to the National Abortion Federation (NAF), the NAF sent a letter to Congress denying its existence. Then Congress was assured the fetus feels no pain during the procedure because anesthesia given to the mother induced ``neurological fetal demise.'' Such was the testimony of Dr. James McMahon, another pioneer of the partial birth abort ion, t o the Hou se Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. After pregnant women across the country started refusing necessary surgery, Dr. Norig Ellison, President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to set the record straight. He told the Committee women would have to be anesthetized to the point where their own health was endangered to achieve ``neurological demise'' of the fetus. By the way, ``neurological demise'' refers to the ``brain death,'' not literal death. Not to be deterred, proponents of partial birth abort ion ci rculated a third lie--anesthesia kills the fetus. Yet we know from Dr. Ellison's testimony and Dr. Haskell's own statements that the baby is alive during the procedure. Lie number four asserted partial birth abort ions w ere ``rare.'' Then, a small newspaper in New Jersey discovered that 1500 of these ``rare'' procedures were performed each year in one clinic. This one clinic was performing three times the supposed national rate of partial birth abort ions. Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, suggested as many as 5000 could be performed annually. Another egregious lie asserted this technique was only used in cases where the mother's life or health were at risk, or when the fetus was deformed. Ron Fitzsimmons helped spread this misinformation. He would later admit that he ``lied through my teeth.''

   The last lie, which the President continues citing in defense of this procedure, proports that partial birth abort ion is necessar y to protect women's health. A group of more than 600 doctors, most of whom are OB-GYNs or perinatologists, call this lie the ``most serious distortion.'' In reality, partial birth is ne ver me dically necessary. That is the opinion of doctors across this country. The AMA says it is ``not medically indicated,'' ``is not good medicine,'' is ``ethically wrong'' and ``is not an accepted `medical practice' ''. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who has 30 years of experience in pediatric surgery, has publicly denounced this procedure. Dr. Warren Hern, who wrote the most widely used textbook on performing abortions admitted he ``*.*.* would dispute any statement that this is the safest procedure to use.'' The Physicians Ad Hoc Coalition for Truth (PHACT), a group of over 600 doctors, emphatically states that partial birth abort ion is never me dically necessary and ``should be banned in the interests of women, their children, and the proper practice of medicine.''

   There is absolutely no evidence that partial birth abort ion is a safe p rocedure. There are no peer reviewed scientific studies. It is not mentioned in medical textbooks or taught in medical schools. The facts, as reviewed by doctors, suggest this technique is in fact dangerous for women. Because of the deliberate breech positioning and the blind procedure of stabbing the baby at the base of its skull, partial birth abort ion su bjects wo men to risks beyond those normally encountered in conventional late term abortions. Furthermore, it could not be used in the two most common life endangering conditions during pregnancy, infection and hemorrhage, because it puts women at greater risk for both.

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   Conditions such as hydrocephaly, trisomy, Downs Syndrome, and development of the organs or brain outside the body have been cited as instances in which partial birth abort ion wa s recomme nded to preserve a woman's life, health, or future fertility. There are tragic situations that require separation of the child from the mother. But it is never necessary to kill the child during that separation to preserve maternal health.

   I have met families who were advised to have a partial birth abort ion af ter their child was diagnosed with a disability. These mothers faced many of the same struggles, such as concerns for their other children, concerns about whether they would be able to care for a handicapped baby, and finding a doctor who was willing to deliver the child. As the Senate considers the Partial Birth Abort ion Ba n Act, I will tell the stories of these families and the children.

   In closing, I ask my colleagues to examine this issue with their hearts. We know of two baby girls, one born in Phoenix and the other in Ohio, who survived this brutal procedure. Baby Phoenix overcame cuts and a skull fracture sustained during a partial birth abort ion pr ocedure. Today, she lives with her adopted parents in Texas. Baby Hope lived only three hours and eight minutes. She was born prematurely during the first dilation stage of a partial birth abort ion. H er life w as short, but she personalized this issue for the hospital staff who gently nursed her for those few hours. I ask that my colleagues consider whether these little girls deserved to be subjected to partial birth abort ions. I ask them to consider that these children were not catch phrases, slogans, or concepts. These babies, and other candidates for partial birth abort ions, are human beings. They are being killed with a procedure that would not be legal for use on animals. I ask my colleagues to do the right thing and vote to outlaw this horrific procedure.

   Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Partial Birth Abort ion Ba n Act of 1999 be inserted into the RECORD.

   There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

   SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Partial-Birth Abort ion Ba n Act of 1999''.

   SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORT IONS.< /b>

    (a) IN GENERAL.--Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 73 the following:

   ``CHAPTER 74--PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORT IONS b>

   ``Sec.

   ``1531..Partial-birth abort ions p rohibited.``§1531. Partial-birth abort ions p rohibited

    ``(a) Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abort ion an d thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. This paragraph shall not apply to a partial-birth abort ion th at is nec essary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. This paragraph shall become effective one day after enactment.

    ``(b)(1) As used in this section, the term `partial-birth abort ion' m eans an ab ortion in which th e person performing the abortion partially v aginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.

    ``(2) As used in this section, the term `physician' means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the State in which the doctor performs such activity, or any other individual legally authorized by the State to perform abortions: Provided, however, That any individual who is not a physician or not otherwise legally authorized by the State to perform abortions, but who nevertheless directly performs a partial-birth abort ion, shall be subject to the provisions of this section.

    ``(3) As used in this section, the term `vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus' means deliberately and intentionally delivers into the vagina a living fetus, or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure the physician knows will kill the fetus, and kills the fetus.

    ``(c)(1) The father, if married to the mother at the time she receives a partial-birth abort ion pr ocedure, and if the mother has not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the abortion, the matern al grandparents of the fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.

 &n bsp;  ``(2) Such relief shall include--

    ``(A) money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and

    ``(B) statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abort ion. > &n bsp;  ``(d)(1) A defendant accused of an offense under this section may seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, illness or injury.

    ``(2) The findings on that issue are admissible on that issue at the trial of the defendant. Upon a motion of the defendant, the court shall delay the beginning of the trial for not more than 30 days to permit such a hearing to take place.

    ``(e) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abort ion is performe d may not be prosecuted under this section, for a conspiracy to violate this section, or for an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on a violation of this section.''.

    (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.--The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 73 the following new item:

   ``74. Partial-birth abort ions b>

   1531''.

• [Begin Insert]

[Page: S4463]  GPO's PDF

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