Walter B. Jones: “I was disappointed and appalled when President Clinton vetoed the partial birth abortion bill. The President's veto is…”

“I was disappointed and appalled when President Clinton vetoed the partial birth abortion bill. The President's veto is in direct opposition to the will of the House and the Senate. Even more important, the President's veto is in direct opposition to the will of the majority of the American people. No one really is sure how many partial birth abortions are performed or how many abortionists are using the method. However, we do know that the overwhelming majority are performed on perfectly normal and healthy babies. Clearly this is an issue that crosses party lines. The bill passed the House with 214 Republicans and 72 Democrats voting for the legislation, and in the Senate with 45 Republicans and 9 Democrats. Yet the President has the gall to go against the American people. In recent polls, national polls of registered voters conducted in December by the Tarrance Group, 71 percent favored the bill that we passed. In another poll, 65 percent of pro-choice Americans supported the ban, the partial birth abortion ban. Specifically, 78 percent of women voters support the ban that the House and the Senate passed. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read for the Record a statement by Ralph Reed regarding the veto of the partial birth abortion ban, and I quote: Bill Clinton has taken his veto pen and pointed it like a dagger at the hearts of the innocent unborn. His veto is a brazen betrayal of his solemn promise to make abortion rare.”