On March 25, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution approved, 8-4, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H. R. 760). The next day, the House Judiciary Committee approved the ban by a party line vote of 19-11. Sponsored by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), H. R. 760 would prohibit a specific abortion procedure performed during the second and third trimesters. The bill would make an exception if the life of the pregnant woman is endangered by carrying the pregnancy to term. Physicians who violate the ban would be subject to two years’ imprisonment and/or fines. H. R. 760 also contains a number of findings that state “partial-birth abortion is never necessary to preserve the health of a woman, poses serious risks to a woman’s health, and lies outside the standard of medical care.”
Congress considered similar bans during the 104th, 105th, and 106th Congresses. Twice the bans were vetoed by President Clinton. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska law that would have banned “partial-birth abortions” because the law did not include a health exception and because the bill placed an undue burden on a woman’s right to choose due to a broadly worded definition. Although the House approved a ban last year, the Senate did not consider the measure (see The Source, 7/26/02). This year, the Senate approved a measure (S. 3) similar to H.R. 760 that would ban “partial-birth abortions” (see The Source, 3/14/03).
During the committee’s consideration of H. R. 760, several Democratic amendments were defeated, including an amendment offered by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) that would have added a health exception to the bill. The amendment was defeated, 7-15.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) offered an amendment that would have removed criminal penalties from the bill. The amendment was defeated, 8-15. She also offered an amendment that would have struck the factual findings from the bill. The amendment was defeated, 10-16.
Another Baldwin amendment would have added language to H.R. 760 stating that the Supreme Court concluded that a “partial-birth abortion” ban could create a significant health risk to women. The amendment failed, 10-16.
An amendment offered by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) that would have removed the civil suit penalties from the bill was rejected, 11-15.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) also offered an amendment that would have changed the bill’s title to the “Safe Abortion Procedures Ban Act of 2003.” Her amendment failed, 8-19.
The House is expected to consider H. R. 760 next week.
