Support Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act!

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R.760) in April or May. H.R. 760 was introduced by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) on February 13 and is scheduled for markup in full committee on March 26. The measure has 159 cosponsors and is similar to S. 3, the partial-birth abortion ban bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate.

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was previously approved by the House in the104th, 105th, and 106th Congresses by overwhelming margins. Action on the third bill was stalled when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its June 28, 2000 Stenberg v. Carhart opinion, in which Nebraska’s partialbirth abortion ban law was declared unconstitutional. In response to Carhart, H.R. 760 contains a more precise definition of partial-birth abortion and incorporates Congress’s factual findings that partial-birth abortion is never necessary to preserve the health of a woman.

H.R. 760 would ban a particularly brutal and inhumane abortion method in which the child is removed from the womb feet-first and delivered except for the head. The abortionist thrusts scissors into the base of the child’s skull, inserts a catheter through the opening, and suctions out the child’s brain. This procedure is never medically necessary. Many recognize partial-birth abortion for what it is: infanticide.
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On February 13, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced an opposition bill, the Late Term Abortion Restriction Act (H.R. 809). This bill states that it is unlawful to perform an abortion after the fetus has become viable, and then adds an exception for health. Under current Supreme Court jurisprudence, this “health” exception means late term abortions can be done for any reason. H.R.
809 restricts nothing.

Information on how Representatives voted on partial-birth abortion in 2002 can be found at:
nchla.org/votes/kv2002final.pdf – see NCHLA Key Votes 161 and 162. For a legislative briefing
page, including lists of cosponsors of bills, visit: nchla.org/pba.htm. For a broad range of
information on the issue, see: www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/pba/index.htm.

Action: Contact your representative by letter via the U.S. Mail, by fax letter, or by e-mail, especially those with mixed voting records on the abortion issue or new members whose position on partial-birth abortion is not clear. Mail letters to: The Honorable
(full name), U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515. For additional contact information, see: clerk.house.gov/members/index.php.

Message: “Please vote for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, H.R. 760.”

When: A House vote is expected in either April or May. Thanks!
3/24/03