Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003

Presbyterians Pro-Life
November 7, 2003

Partial birth abortion ban signed into law

by Terry Schlossberg

Wednesday, President George W. Bush signed into law "The Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003." The law reads as follows:

Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. This subsection does not apply to a partial-birth abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.

A second section of the law defines and explains its terms. That section stipulates that "a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under this section…."

The new law includes several pages of "Findings" that both the Senate and House of Representatives investigated and agreed upon regarding this abortion procedure. The first finding stated is:

A moral, medical, and ethical consensus exists that the practice of performing a partial-birth abortion—an abortion in which a physician deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living, unborn child’s body until either the entire baby’s head is outside the body of the mother, or any part of the baby’s trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother and only the head remains inside the womb, for the purpose of performing an overt act (usually the puncturing of the back of the child’s skull and removing the baby’s brains) that the person knows will kill the partially delivered infant, performs this act, and then completes delivery of the dead infant—is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited.

In another finding, Congress states that "Partial-birth abortion poses serious risks to the health of a woman undergoing the procedure," and goes on to list physical threats to a woman’s health. It says, "There is no credible medical evidence that partial-birth abortions are safe…."

Not only does Congress find significant risks to the health of a woman in the partial-birth abortion procedure, but also it finds no medical necessity for its use:

The physician credited with developing the partial-birth abortion procedure has testified that he has never encountered a situation where a partial-birth abortion was medically necessary to achieve the desired outcome and, thus, is never medically necessary to preserve the health of a woman.

Congress concludes that the prohibition both promotes maternal health and "will draw a bright line that clearly distinguishes abortion and infanticide, that preserves the integrity of the medical profession, and promotes respect for human life."

Finally, based on its findings, Congress summarizes,

That partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated to preserve the health of the mother; is in fact unrecognized as a valid abortion procedure by the mainstream medical community; poses additional health risks to the mother; blurs the line between abortion and infanticide in the killing of a partially-born child just inches from birth; and confuses the role of the physician in childbirth and should, therefore, be banned.

A number of abortion providers who use the partial-birth abortion procedure are bringing suit against the law. In addition, abortion rights groups have filed suit in various federal courts to block the enactment of the law.

Presbyterians Pro-Life rejoices in the enactment of a law that seeks to protect the lives and health of babies and their mothers. We agree with the stated findings of Congress that "implicitly approving such a brutal and inhumane procedure by choosing not to prohibit it will further coarsen society to the humanity of not only newborns, but all vulnerable and innocent human life, making it increasingly difficult to protect such life." We in PPL believe that this statement by Congress is one that ought to be declared by the Christian Church, and that the Church ought to be in the front lines of seeking the protection of all human beings, each of whom is created in God’s image.

General Assembly action opposes the law: expect to see lobbying against it

The General Assembly of the PC(USA) has approved late term abortions, which include partial-birth abortions. The current statement of the G.A. permits lobbying against this law by denominational offices as well as the filing of amicus briefs supporting the suits against the law.

Presbyterians Pro-Life can assist churches that wish to send overtures to the upcoming General Assembly in support of the protection of mothers and their babies.

For complete text and information on the bill, S3, click here (This goes to the Library of Congress website - to see the jointly approved bill, enter "S.3.ENR" in the box "bill number," then click "search")

See "A Day for Rejoicing" by Terry Schlossberg, October 22, 2003

See PPL NEWS article, "G.A. affirms abortion decisions for late term babies who could live if born"

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