New Late-Term Abortion Bill Is Defeated in Senate

WASHINGTON —  The Senate, reopening an emotional debate on a bill that would ban some late-term abortions, rejected an alternative Wednesday that offered an exception for women whose pregnancies endangered their health.

Supporters of the stronger bill argued that the alternative, defeated by a 61-38 vote, would permit late-term abortions in virtually any circumstance.

“This is about infanticide,” said Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), chief sponsor of a stricter version. “This is a baby who is all but born and then killed.”

Democrats contended Santorum’s bill was unconstitutional and designed to boost GOP election prospects next year.

“We all know . . . this is the third time the president will veto this bill,” said its chief opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) “Why go through this if not for politics?”

The debate almost immediately focused on the argument over the definition of viable life and at which point an fetus should be considered born.

The procedure in question involves the partial, feet-first delivery of a fetus and the draining of its skull contents.

Santorum’s bill, the “Partial Birth Abortion Act of 1999,” would make it a felony punishable by a fine and/or a two-year prison term unless the procedure is “necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness or injury.” The mother could not be prosecuted under the measure.

Additionally, the legislation provides for lawsuits against the physician by the father of the fetus and by the mother’s parents, in certain circumstances.

The alternative offered by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) would have stopped all abortions after fetuses can survive outside the womb, except in cases where two independent doctors certify a woman’s life was at risk or she faced “grievous injury” to physical health.

Republicans said the proposal was an attempt to permit abortions in almost all cases because any pregnancy can be considered a threat to a woman’s health.

The bill has little chance of becoming law, according to senior Senate Republican aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.