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President Signs Bill That Prohibits Type of AbortionFrom: Dean Huffman (dean@thehuffpeople.net)Wed Nov 5 13:19:58 2003
.. President Signs Bill That Prohibits Type of Abortion By DAVID STOUT November 5, 2003 -- N.Y. Times WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 — President Bush signed a law today outlawing a certain type of abortion, declaring that it would benefit "the innocent child" yet unborn. With a few ceremonial pen strokes in the Ronald Reagan Trade Center here, Mr. Bush gave abortion opponents something they have sought for years. "For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth while the law looked the other way," Mr. Bush said against a backdrop of American flags before an audience of several hundred people. "Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child." The bill makes it a crime for a doctor to undertake a procedure sometimes used to terminate pregnancies after the first trimester that doctors call intact dilation and extraction. Abortion opponents call the procedure "partial-birth abortion," although that is not a medical term. The Senate approved the bill, 64 to 34, on Oct. 21. Earlier, the House approved it, 281 to 142. The majorities were so overwhelming because many lawmakers who generally favor the right to choose abortion voted in favor of this bill. "I'm about 99 percent pro-choice," said Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, one of many Democrats who nevertheless voted in favor of the bill. Other Democrats who crossed over and sided with Republican conservatives said they, too, had anguished. Polls have shown that a majority of Americans support the Roe v. Wade decision, but there is little support for the procedure that the bill prohibits. Even so, some lawmakers said the language of the bill was so broad that it could call into question some safe, common medical procedures. In any event, the signing ceremony marks a turning point in the 30-year history of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman's right to choose abortion. Abortion-rights advocates have long insisted that the law taking effect today cannot possibly be sustained in court in view of Roe v. Wade. Moreover, three years ago the Supreme Court voted, 5 to 4, to overturn a Nebraska law similar to the one signed today. In highly unusual pre-emptive strikes, three advocacy groups filed federal court suits against the latest law even before it had the president's signature. Hearings on the suits were taking place today in Nebraska, San Francisco and New York City. Judge Richard Kopf, who was presiding over a hearing in Omaha, Neb., called the new law "highly suspect, if not a per se violation of the Constitution," The Associated Press reported. Aware of the legal challenges, Mr. Bush said, "The executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts." The president's remarks drew loud and sustained applause from an audience that included House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois and several other Republican lawmakers, including Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, one of the chief supporters of the law signed today. Ralph G. Neas, president of People for the American Way, issued a statement asserting that the bill contains language that is so broad it could forbid some safe and common abortion procedures. "It shifts the focus from the fact that women should make decisions about their own health care with their doctors rather than the government making those decisions," Mr. Neas said. "This bill is an affront to women, defies the U.S. Supreme Court and should be ruled unconstitutional." Former President Bill Clinton twice vetoed bills similar to the one Mr. Bush signed today. Even before the ceremony in the Reagan building, abortion-rights supporters and abortion opponents were gathering to demonstrate for their causes. The competing demonstrations were a reminder that abortion remains a highly sensitive issue, both personally and politically as the 2004 presidential campaign gets under way. Abortion opponents hope to see the Roe v. Wade decision overturned one day, which is why nominations to federal courts have become increasingly controversial. The lineup of the United States Supreme Court has not changed in nine years. But three justices are in their 70's and one, Justice John Paul Stevens, is 83.
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