Dianne Feinstein: “I opposed the override of the veto of H.R. 1122, a bill banning emergency late-term abortions. There are several reasons…”

“I opposed the override of the veto of H.R. 1122, a bill banning emergency late-term abortions. There are several reasons why this is a flawed bill. This bill attempts to ban a specific medical procedure, called by opponents, partial-birth abortion, but there is no medical definition of partial-birth abortion. The language in this bill is so vague that it could affect far more than the one particular procedure it seeks to ban, procedures used during the second and possibly the first trimester of a pregnancy. There is no exception to protect the health of the woman. This bill would ban a type of medical procedure regardless of whether it is the medically safest procedure under a particular set of circumstances. States are legislating prohibitions on abortions. H.R. 1122 would criminalize the use of a medical procedure called, by the bill, partial-birth abortion. This term does not appear in medical textbooks or training. Doctors do not know what it means. The doctors who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee could not identify, with any degree of certainty or consistency, what medical procedure this legislation refers to.”