Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
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April 7, 2000, Friday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 22; Column
1; Editorial Desk
LENGTH: 298 words
HEADLINE: 'Partial Birth' Electioneering
BODY:
Neither imminent review of the issue by the
Supreme Court nor the promise of yet another presidential veto could deter the
House on Wednesday from its familiar ritual of voting to impose a national
ban on so-called partial birth abortion. Of course, election
year politics explains the rush to yet another showdown. But that hardly
justifies lawmakers playing so fast and loose with women's health and
constitutional rights, or the fundamental dishonesty of the entire exercise.
This latest version contains some new language defining the procedures
covered, but the tinkering still leaves a wide chasm between what its proponents
say the ban would do and what the bill actually says. Although
described by its proponents as a narrow attack on one late-term
abortion procedure, the measure can be read to outlaw procedures
commonly used throughout all stages of pregnancy. Like earlier versions, the new
House bill contains no exception to protect the health of the pregnant woman and
does not use medical terminology to describe the actions it is criminalizing,
leaving its terms unconstitutionally vague. Disturbingly, the 287-to-141 vote in
the House exceeded the number needed to override a presidential veto by two
votes. The Senate's approval of the ban in October fell just two votes short of
the number needed to override. That margin is far too close for comfort.
A number of senators who otherwise consider themselves "pro-choice" have
voted in the past to support the ban, apparently because they misunderstand its
broad impact on abortion rights. They need to reconsider. The broad impact is
the reason similar state bans have been struck down by courts, including the
Nebraska ban at issue in the case that will be argued in the Supreme Court later
this month. http://www.nytimes.com
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April 7, 2000 
