The House of Representatives voted in convincing fashion June 4 to outlaw a gruesome abortion procedure on a partially delivered child.
The 282-139 vote in favor of the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act moved the legislation one step closer to enactment. The Senate passed a similar ban in mid-March with a 64-33 vote. Because of a difference in the two versions, however, a conference committee of both Senate and House members will negotiate a final bill for passage before sending it to the White House. After the House vote, President Bush again declared his support for such a prohibition. “Passage of this import legislation is a shared priority that will help build a culture of life in America,” he said in a written statement. “I urge Congress to quickly resolve any differences and send me the final bill as soon as possible so that I can sign it into law.”
Congress twice adopted partial birth abortion bans in the 1990s only to have President Clinton veto them.
“I am thankful that many members of Congress have put aside their partisan differences and have united to once and for all put an end to this gruesome and horrendous procedure,” said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “When President Bush signs this bill into law, it will be the most significant blow to the pro-choice, pro-death agenda since the landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade 30 years ago.
When it becomes law, the ban will mark the first time Congress has restricted a particular method since abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court in the 1973 Roe decision.
In 1996 and 2002 the Southern Baptist Convention approves resolutions condemning partial-birth abortions. Last year messengers passed a proposal from the floor calling for Bush to make enactment of a ban on the method a high priority.
A January poll by the Gallup organization found 70 percent of Americans support such a ban.
(BP)
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