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Late-term abortion ban goes forward

Court challenges are expected if the bill is signed into law.

By Joel B. Finkelstein, amednews staff. Oct. 20, 2003.

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Washington -- Congress has moved one step closer to banning intact dilatation and extraction -- called "partial-birth abortion" by its opponents -- and creating stiff penalties for physicians who provide the procedure.

The House on Oct. 2 voted 281-142 to agree to a final bill worked out by a conference committee charged with ironing out differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. At press time, the Senate had not voted on the measure but was widely expected to approve it.

The bill does not include an exception for the health of the woman that had been proposed by Democrats. Abortion rights groups have promised to challenge the legislation in court if it becomes law, as expected.

Several physician groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Public Health Assn., oppose bans on intact D&X as an undue imposition of government oversight on physicians' ability to choose the most appropriate treatment for their patients.

The final bill does not contain language included in the original Senate measure expressing support for the Roe v. Wade decision and the right of women to have abortions. It contains criminal penalties of up to two years in prison for physicians who perform the procedure. Physicians also can be sued for damages by the husbands or parents, in the case of minors, of women who undergo it.

President Bush, who has vowed to sign the bill once it reaches his desk, said the House action "is an important step that will help us continue to build a culture of life in America."