Abortion rights opponents in the House proposed a bill yesterday that would ban the so-called “partial birth” abortion. Congress has previously passed two such bans, but former President Clinton vetoed both. The bill does not contain an exception to the procedure in order to preserve the woman’s health, despite the fact that in 2000, the Supreme Court overturned a similar ban in the Nebraska case, Stenburg v. Cahart, citing the lack of such a health exception.
“Anti-abortion members of Congress are ignoring the Supreme Court ruling that makes this ban unconstitutional,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “Reproductive health care decisions must be made by a woman and her doctor, not by anti-abortion politicians.”
The phrase “partial-birth” abortion is an inaccurate and inflammatory term invented by the right wing. “Partial birth” abortion does not refer to any particular medical procedure. According to the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the term is not recognized in the medical community. These type of abortion procedure bans aim to outlaw or significantly chip away at a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal medical procedure.
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