Statement by Congresswoman Jane Harman

Congresswoman Jane harman - Press Release

IN OPPOSITION TO S.3 CONFERENCE REPORT BANNING "PARTIAL BIRTH" ABORTIONS

October 2, 2003

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the conference report to ban so-called partial-birth abortions.

Regrettably, Congress is poised to pass, and the President is prepared to sign, a bill that can only be described as unconstitutional.

I urge my colleagues not to be deceived by this legislation.

"Partial birth" is not a medical, factual or legal term. Let's be frank - it is a political term.

This is not a debate about so-called "partial-birth" abortion or late-term abortion. This is a debate about efforts to roll back a woman's constitutional right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

The so-called "partial birth" abortion ban contained in this bill is intended to erode the protections of Roe v. Wade and I believe will be found unconstitutional by the courts.

Even the "sense of the Senate" language included in the Senate-passed bill reaffirming Roe v. Wade has been stripped out of this bill.

Supporters of this bill argue that language defining the partial-birth abortion procedure has been tightened and that findings included stating that the procedure is never necessary to protect a woman's health.

This is simply smoke and mirrors. The bill is unconstitutional for the same reasons the Supreme Court struck down similar laws. Women are entitled to the right to the safest abortion procedure available. To ban one particular procedure is to deny women - in consultation with their doctor- that right.

Just as its authors intended, this bill would apply well before viability, banning a safe method of abortion that is often used in the second trimester.

In addition, it fails to include language providing an exception to protect the health of the mother.

I am distressed that more than 30 years after the Supreme Court's historic Roe decision, we are considering legislative measures that could revert us back to the time of dangerous back alley abortions.

Before voting, I hope that my colleagues will remember the struggles women faced before Roe.
Let us not forget the women who were injured or who died from unsafe procedures. This bill could well return us to that era again.

I urge my colleagues to uphold a woman's constitutional right to choose by voting against final passage of this conference report.