Saxby Chambliss: “we have an opportunity today in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 4965, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of…”

“we have an opportunity today in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 4965, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002. This legislation will outlaw the deplorable procedure known as partial-birth abortion. This issue is important to my state of Georgia, where in 1997, then Governor Zell Miller signed the ban on partial birth abortion into state law. This body has garnered nearly 300 supporters for each of the four separate times we have had the opportunity to cast votes on this important matter. The American Medical Association concludes that partial-birth abortion is ``not an accepted medical practice,'' while a wealth of other medical research shows this procedure is never medically necessary. This is not a partisan issue, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan the retired Democratic Senator from the State of New York, known for giving voice to the public conscience, compared the procedure to murder by stating, ``It is as close to infanticide as anything I have come upon in our judiciary.'' I agree with Senator Moynihan, partial-birth abortion is brutal and ruthless and must be banned. It is a disgrace that this reckless disregard for innocent young life is permitted here in United States of America. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 4965 and I remain hopeful that we will be able to outlaw this despicable procedure once and for all.”