[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[EXTENSIO]
[Page 14030]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 760, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.
  Partial-birth abortion is an inhumane procedure which is never 
necessary to preserve the health of the mother. Indeed, this procedure 
poses serious health risks to the mother, and it is unnecessarily 
brutal to the baby. I have heard from numerous physicians that there 
are other safe methods for terminating a pregnancy when the life of the 
mother is in danger, and the American Medical Association has stated 
that partial-birth abortion is not an accepted medical practice.
  H.R. 760 addresses the constitutional issues raised by the Supreme 
Court decision in Stenberg v. Carhart. It does so by using a more 
precise definition of the gruesome partial-birth procedure, clearly 
distinguishing between this and other forms of abortion. Furthermore, 
H.R. 760 provides extensive congressional findings which show that a 
partial-birth abortion is never medically necessary to preserve the 
health of a woman.
  The House has passed this legislation in previous Congresses, yet a 
final vote did not take place in the Senate or in conference. The 
Senate recently passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. We now have 
a historic opportunity to pass this legislation and send it to the 
White House for the President's approval. I strongly support enactment 
of a ban on partial-birth abortion, and I urge my colleagues to vote in 
support of H.R. 760.

                          ____________________