Abortion law heads toward right action
by Rawly Bransom, Reporter

    Last Tuesday the Senate voted to ban the practice of what many people call “partial birth abortions.”
   The Senate passed the bill with a vote of 64-32, coming three weeks after the House‘s 281-142 vote for the same bill.
   President Bush, in Asia when the bill passed, not only promised to sign the bill, but also was a major proponent.
   “This is a very important legislation that will end an abhorrent practice and continue to build a culture of life in America,” Bush said    Tuesday after the bill was passed.
   The problem seems to come from the viewpoint each side has of the bill. Those for the bill seem to think it will put a stop to what they consider an immoral practice. Those against the bill believe it is the first step in challenging Roe vs. Wade.
   Neither group is focusing on the right area. Is partial birth abortion abominable? Yes. The question then is, when do you allow such a practice to happen?
   Many doctors will tell you these types of procedures sometimes must be done to save the life of a parent. In those instances, the procedure is necessary if it is the only way to prevent the mother’s death.
   However, using the procedure simply as a way to abort an unwanted child is not only sick but borders on the realm of murder. I do believe in pro-choice even though I am a male and most of the women in my family argue with me constantly. I would rather see a mother who knows she is in no physical, mental or financial condition to have a child make a responsible choice for both their lives than see the child grow up destitute or even hated by its parent.
   Oftentimes, however, the fetuses aborted in these procedures have basic motor skills, a small awareness and the ability to feel pain.    These children might live if properly sustained until their immune system can handle the outside world.
   The current attitudes toward aborting at this late stage of development and killing a two-week old child are distressing. Partial birth abortion may be frowned upon, but the murder of a two-week-old results in jail. That is weird since developmentally there are few differences between the two.
    The Supreme Court has overturned similar cases in the past. When a similar Nebraska law was overturned, the reasons were not those of most pro-choice advocates. Instead, the court overturned the law simply because it was too vague and did not take into consideration the health of the mother. This bill shares the same problems as the Nebraska law.
   Eventually the bill will probably be overturned, and that is a good thing. However, other more specific bills will probably follow, and that will probably be a good thing too.