Letter from Tom Davis in favor of Banning Partial-Birth Abortions
Aug 09, 2002 Thank you for writing to express your support of H.R. 4965, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002. I appreciate hearing from you regarding this important issue.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the State of Nebraska's ban on partial-birth abortions in Stenberg v. Carhart. The Court concluded that it placed an 'undue burden' on women seeking abortions because it failed to include an exception for partial-birth abortions deemed necessary to preserve the 'health' of the mother.
In response to this ruling, and to further understand this issue, the U.S. Congress has continued to hold extensive hearings on partial-birth abortion. According to testimony from these hearings, partial-birth abortion is never medically necessary to safeguard the health of the woman, it exposes her to substantial and further health risks, and it is outside of the standard of medical care. On June 19, 2002, Representative Steve Chabot (OH-01) introduced H.R. 4965, a bill which would prohibit the performance of partial-birth abortions. The only exception to this ban would be cases in which the life of the mother is threatened by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. H.R. 4965 incorporates the findings of Congressional hearings on this subject.
I feel very strongly about banning partial-birth abortion, and therefore, I voted in favor of H.R. 4965. Partial-birth abortion is unnecessarily brutal to the baby and poses serious health risks to the mother. In addition to learning from Congressional testimony, I have heard from numerous doctors that there are other safe methods for terminating a pregnancy when the life of the mother is in danger.
I co-sponsored and voted in support of the partial-birth abortion ban in the 104th, 105th, and 106th Congresses. Furthermore, I voted to override President Clinton's veto of the ban in the 104th and 105th Congresses. I am hopeful that with President Bush in the White House we will finally see enactment of a ban on partial-birth abortion.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write to me. I hope you will continue to share with me your views on matters of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Tom Davis
Member of Congress
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