Senate Approves Ban on Controversial Abortion Procedure

The bill that passed the Senate 64 to 33 outlaws the “intact dilatation and extraction” abortion procedure. Critics refer to this procedure as a “partial-birth abortion,” although the American Medical Association does not consider that to be a medical term.

The bill prohibits doctors from committing an “overt act” designed to kill a partially delivered fetus. “Partial-birth” is described as a case in which the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the event of a breech delivery, if “any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother.”

Opponents of the measure say the procedure is rarely performed and that the ban could be extended to cover other forms of abortion.

The bill allows the procedure only when it is necessary to save a woman’s life, but not when it is necessary to preserve her health or fertility.

“Abortion takes life away,” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said during the debate this week. “And partial birth abortion does so in a manner that is brutal and barbaric and morally offensive to the mainstream medical community.”

Sponsors of companion House legislation expect to pass it in late April and the president has said he would sign it.

“Partial-birth abortion is an abhorrent procedure that offends human dignity, and I commend the Senate for passing legislation to ban it,” Mr. Bush said in a prepared statement. “Today’s action is an important step toward building a culture of life in America.”

Abortion rights supporters have pledged a court challenge.

“This bill is unconstitutional,” argued Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) citing the lack of an exemption in cases where the health of the mother is in jeopardy.

“It unconstitutionally restricts women’s rights, no matter where a woman is in her pregnancy,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes bans on the procedure, stating that, “intact D&X [dilation and extraction] may be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of a woman….”

Abortion rights advocates did score one victory on Wednesday when the Senate approved a non-binding measure in support of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that gave women the right to end their pregnancies.

Despite the passage of the Roe measure, abortion-rights supporters were dealt a string of blows during the debate.

The Senate rejected two proposals that would have banned a range of late-term abortions with exceptions for the health of the mother. Proponents of the bill passed Thursday said the exceptions would have rendered the prohibition all but meaningless.

On a vote of 56 to 42, lawmakers rejected a call to have the bill rewritten in committee to address “constitutional issues raised by the Supreme Court” in a 2000 ruling that struck down a Nebraska late-term abortion ban.

The Senate defeated another amendment to the bill, offered by Washington Democrat Patty Murray, that would have promoted wider access to birth control and to emergency contraception or “morning after pills” for rape victims.

Congress twice before passed legislation to impose a ban, but former President Clinton vetoed both measures.

Those both in favor and opposed to the ban expect that the debate will eventually be decided by the courts.