In a dramatic new attack on abortion access, on June 4 the US House of Representatives passed a bill by 282 votes to 139, banning late-term abortions.
The bill criminalises the dilation and extraction method of abortion of a live fetus, used after 20 weeks' of pregnancy. It is extremely rare, and generally only used if continuing with the pregnancy will endanger the woman's health or the fetus is badly malformed.
Once the bill is signed into law by President George Bush, doctors performing this medical procedure could face two years' imprisonment, as well as civil law suits.
There is no provision in the bill to exempt women whose health would be threatened by proceeding with the pregnancy.
Emotive debate — complete with graphic images — preceded the bill's passing. Anti-abortion Congress members referred to late-term abortion as "partial-birth" abortion, equating the procedure with infanticide.
In his concluding remarks, Texas Republican and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay requested that those voting on the bill "think of the frantic wriggling of that little body in that gloved hand, think of that moment of pure terror when those sanitised scissors puncture the baby's neck".
This is the first time a particular form of abortion has been criminalised in the US since abortion rights were upheld by the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling in the Supreme Court. A number of previous attempts at passing similar anti-abortion bills were vetoed by former president Bill Clinton.
Pro-choice and civil liberties' groups are preparing a court challenge to seek an immediate injunction that would prevent the bill from taking effect.
The battle over abortion rights is also intensifying at the state level. On May 21, the Texas state legislature passed a bill requiring doctors to inform women seeking abortions of a possible link between abortion and breast cancer.
The fact that the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and a range of leading scientists have provided conclusive evidence disproving any such link was entirely disregarded in the decision. The states of Mississippi and Minnesota already have laws in place requiring this "possible" link to be made known to women.
Texas Republican congressman Frank Corte, who introduced the bill, dubbed it "the woman's right to know act". The bill also ensures that women will be "informed" about potential medical risks of abortion, possibilities for adoption and the liability of fathers to provide child support, along with colour photos showing the stages of foetal development. This must be followed by a 24-hour "waiting period".
Abortion providers exist in only 15 of the 254 counties in Texas, so the new laws further restrict what is already very limited access to abortion by women in that state. Opponents of the bill have also criticised the cuts in Medicaid funding which deny assistance to low-income pregnant women in attaining prenatal care and the failure to approve greater access to emergency contraception.
BY KERRYN WILLIAMS
From Green Left Weekly, June 11, 2003.
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