December 7, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S18183 Reid Rockefeller Simon Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President I yield were a lawyer advising a physician who Robb Sarbanes Wellstone myself 4 minutes and 15 second and ask performed abortions, I would tell him NOT VOTING—1 to be notified at that time. to stop, because there is just no way to Moynihan Mr. President, I oppose the pending tell whether the procedure will [violate So the conference report was agreed bill and strongly support the Boxer this law].’’ Dr. Robinson, who has practiced med- to. amendment to protect the lives and icine for over 40 years, expressed the Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I move to health of women. I came away from the fear that if doctors are unwilling to reconsider the vote. November 17 Judiciary Committee hearing more convinced than ever that perform needed abortions, women will Mr. HOLLINGS. I move to lay that resort to the back-alley methods that motion on the table. this bill is an unwise, unconstitu- tional—— were used before safe, legal abortions The motion to lay on the table was became available. He testified: agreed to. Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, if I could ask the Senator to yield, the In the 1950’s in New York, I watched f Senate is not in order. women die from abortions that were improp- PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the erly done. By banning this technique, you would, in practice, ban most later abortions ACT Senators to the left of me take their altogether by making them virtually un- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under conversations off the floor? available. And that means that women will the previous order, the Senate will now The Senator from Massachusetts. probably die. I know. I’ve seen it happen. resume the consideration of H.R. 1833, Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I op- Despite the bill’s apparently delib- which the clerk will now report. pose the pending bill to outlaw medi- erate vagueness, the one activity it The legislative clerk read as follows: cally necessary abortions, and I strong- clearly bans is a procedure known as ly support the Boxer amendment to A bill (H.R. 1833) to amend title 18, United ‘‘intact dilation and extraction’’ or States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions. protect the lives and health of women. ‘‘D&E’’ surgery. There are perhaps 450 The Senate began to debate H.R. 1833 such operations performed in the The Senate resumed the consider- last month, a mere 6 days after the bill ation of the bill. United States each year, and they in- had passed the House. At first, the volve ‘‘wanted pregnancies gone trag- Pending: bill’s Senate sponsors even refused the ically awry,’’ according to Dr. Mary Smith amendment No. 3080, to provide a reasonable request that hearings be life-of-the-mother exception. Campbell of Planned Parenthood, who Dole amendment No. 3081 (to amendment held. But a strong bipartisan majority testified at the hearing. Dr. Campbell No. 3080), of a perfecting nature. of the Senate rejected that unaccept- explained that when emergency condi- Pryor amendment No. 3082, to clarify cer- able approach. The bill was committed tions threaten the life or health of the tain provisions of law with respect to the ap- to the Judiciary Committee for a hear- pregnant woman, this procedure is proval and marketing of certain prescription ing. But there was no committee mark- safer than any other abortion method, drugs. up and the Senate does not have the such as induced labor or caesarean sec- Boxer amendment No. 3083 (to amendment benefit of a committee report. tion. No. 3082), to clarify the application of certain The haste with which this bill is Depending upon the position of the provisions with respect to abortions where being pushed through the Senate is un- fetus in the womb, a woman is 14 times necessary to preserve the life or health of as likely to die from a C-section as the woman. seemly. Obviously, its proponents don’t Brown amendment No. 3085, to limit the want their proposal examined too from a D&E, and twice as likely to die ability of dead beat fathers and those who closely. They’d rather have the Senate from induced labor as from a D&E, ac- consent to the mother receiving a partial- vote on emotion, not on the facts. cording to Dr. Campbell. C-sections birth abortion to collect relief. I attended the November 17 hearing, create an increased risk of rupture of AMENDMENT NO. 3083 TO AMENDMENT NO. 3082, and I came away from it more con- the uterus in future pregnancies. AND AMENDMENT NO. 3081 TO AMENDMENT NO. vinced than ever that this bill is an un- The bill’s supporters ignore this com- 3080 wise, unconstitutional, and dangerous pelling medical testimony and the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under proposal. scholarly articles that support it. They the previous order, there will now be 60 The hallmark of good legislation is rely instead on a single quotation from minutes equally divided for debate on clarity. But the November 17 hearing a single doctor to the effect that 80 per- amendments by Senators DOLE and revealed that this bill is unacceptable cent of these abortions he performs are ‘‘elective.’’ But proponents of the bill BOXER. vague. In criminal legislation like this, are grossly distorting what that doctor The Senate will be in order. that’s unconstitutional, and it’s quite said. They never complete the Who seeks recognition? likely that the courts will throw out quotation—the doctor stated that he is Mr. KENNEDY addressed the Chair. this bill under the void for vagueness referring to abortions before the sixth The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- doctrine. ator from Massachusetts. month of pregnancy. The problem is obvious. The Judici- The Supreme Court has made plain Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask ary Committee heard from a panel of that in the case of such pre-viability the Senator from California for 5 min- medical experts who could not even abortions, a woman may elect to ter- utes, when the Senate is in order. agree among themselves on the med- minate her pregnancy without the Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, if you ical meaning of the legislative lan- undue interference from the Govern- will bring the Senate to order? guage, or on which procedures might be ment. After viability, of course, there The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- banned. Dr. Courtland Robinson of are no elective abortions. As Dr. Camp- ator from Massachusetts has asked for Johns Hopkins University called the bell noted emphatically, ‘‘third tri- 5 minutes from the Senator from Cali- language ‘‘vague, not medically sub- mester abortion for healthy babies is fornia. stantiated, and just not medically cor- not available in this country.* * * Oc- Mrs. BOXER. Yes, as soon as the Sen- rect . the name [partial-birth abor- casionally, someone comes to see me ate is in order. I do not believe we tion] did not exist until someone who who thinks she is 10 weeks pregnant; it should start the clock running until wanted to ban an abortion procedure turns out she is 32 weeks pregnant. I the Senate is in order. Mr. President, made up this erroneous, inflammatory don’t say, ‘where can we get you a this is a very serious difficult debate. term.’’ third-trimester abortion.’ I say, ‘You Members on both sides feel very The bill’s very vagueness itself will be having a baby.’’’ strongly. I will be happy to yield 5 min- threatens the lives and health of Amer- The Judiciary Committee heard the utes to the Senator from Massachu- ican women. In the absence of a clear facts about the D&E procedure from setts when the Chair believes the Sen- definition of what is outlawed, doctors doctors. We also heard moving testi- ate is in order. will decline to perform any abortion mony from two women who needed and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- that a prosecutor or jury might later obtained this surgery to avoid serious ator will begin debate when there is find objectionable. health consequences. order. Prof. Louis Michael Seidman of Coreen Costello is a pro-life Repub- The Senator from Massachusetts. Georgetown Law Center testified: ‘‘If I lican. She learned that the fetus she VerDate Aug 31 2005 03:35 May 29, 2008 Jkt 041999 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 J:\ODA15\1995_F~1\S07DE5.REC S07DE5 mmaher on MIKETEMP with SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS S18184 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 7, 1995 was carrying had ‘‘a lethal neuro- sage will advance their goal of discred- Senator SMITH and Senator DOLE logical disorder.***Due to swelling, iting Roe versus Wade and eventually know how to write a genuine life-of- her head was already larger than that outlawing all abortions. The bill’s sup- the-mother exception. The model is ob- of a full-term baby. Natural birth or an porters in the House boasted of such a vious—the long-standing Hyde amend- induced labor were impossible.’’ The strategy. At least one witness at the ment in Medicaid, which allows Med- D&E procedure, she said, ‘‘greatly low- committee hearing spoke frankly of icaid to pay for abortions in cases ered the risk of my death.***There this broader agenda. Helen Alvare of where it is necessary to save the life of was no reason to risk leaving my chil- the Catholic Conference testified in the mother. dren motherless if there was no hope of support of the bill. She responded to But Senator SMITH and Senator DOLE saving [my baby].’’ questioning by Senator FEINGOLD that don’t want a real exception for the life Vicki Wilson testified about an she absolutely favored criminal pen- of the mother.