Jerry Nadler: “Mr. Speaker, we have heard repeatedly, including from the last speaker, that so-called partial-birth abortion is never a…”

“Mr. Speaker, we have heard repeatedly, including from the last speaker, that so-called partial-birth abortion is never a necessary procedure to save the life and health of the mother, but fact is the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and I am reading now from the committee report, minority views, ``the leading professional association of physicians who specialize in the health care of women, has concluded that the D & X'' procedure, which is one procedure described by partial-birth abortion, ``is a safe procedure and may be the safest option for some women. ACOG has explained that intact D & E, including D & X, is a minor, and often safer, variant of the `traditional' nonintact D & E. ACOG has also stated that D & X `may be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of a woman. Only the physician, in consultation with the patient and based on her circumstances, can make this decision.' '' That is why relying on this kind of medical evidence, ``the Supreme Court concluded in Stenberg that `significant medical authority supports the proposition that in some circumstances D & X would be the safest procedure.' Indeed, the Court concluded that `a statute that altogether forbids D & X creates a significant health risk.' '' So much for the so-called findings in this bill, the Supreme Court has already thrown them in the trash basket.”