Search Terms: partial birth abortion
Document 299 of 609.
Copyright 2000 The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
April
23, 2000, Sunday
SECTION:
EDITORIAL & COMMENT, Pg. 2C
LENGTH:
306 words
HEADLINE:
PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION
IS A TRAGIC WASTE OF LIFE
BODY:
I learned recently that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case Stenberg vs. Carhart this week. This case centers on a crucial social issue in our country,
partial-birth abortion,
and it is the task of the Supreme Court to decide whether a law banning
partial-birth abortion
is constitutional. In the procedure, a viable fetus is delivered in the breech position (feet first). The physician then punctures the baby's neck and suctions out its brain, thus killing the baby and terminating the pregnancy.
In light of the recent conviction of Sean Steele on two counts of murder, one for his victim's unborn baby, I cannot understand why a law making this procedure illegal is being questioned. Although Steele's conviction occurred in Ohio and the Supreme Court is hearing a case out of Nebraska, the same logic applies to both cases.
I understand the abortion industry stands to lose revenue if partial-birth abortion is banned. I understand that Roe vs. Wade resulted in legal, on- demand abortion. But the basis for Justice Harry Blackmun's 1973 argument in favor of abortion was that no one can state with certainty when life begins.
In the case of a partial-birth abortion, there is no arguing the fact that the child is alive.
This procedure is not medically necessary. If a baby can be delivered alive (except for its head) and then killed, the baby can be delivered alive and not killed without additional danger to the mother.
This is a grisly procedure that should be banned in every state in the country. While such a ban may reduce only by a small percentage infant deaths by abortion, I certainly hope that the citizens of our nation will exhort their leaders, especially our Supreme Court justices, to maintain this minimal standard of decency and logical consistency.
Donna L. Tanner
Westerville
LOAD-DATE:
April 23, 2000
Document 299 of 609.
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