
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990                   TAG: 9007080106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

LA. SENATE SUSTAINS VETO OF STRICT ANTI-ABORTION BILL

The Louisiana Senate on Saturday sustained Gov. Buddy Roemer's veto of a bill that outlawed abortions except to protect the life of the woman.

Another vote is likely today because Senate rules allow a second vote when a majority votes in favor of an action. The vote to override was 23 to 16, three votes short of the 26 required to override a veto. The House had voted to override the veto Friday night.

"We're working hard to switch some votes," said Democratic Rep. Woody Jenkins, author of the measure. But Terri Bartlett, director of Louisiana Planned Parenthood, said she expects "the 16 senators to stand strong."

The bill would have been the nation's most restrictive state anti-abortion law. Doctors who perform abortions would have faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000.

Drafted by state and national anti-abortion organizations, the legislation is part of a national effort to get a bill through a state legislature that will provide the Supreme Court with a challenge to the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling.

The Louisiana legislature was considered the last one this year with a chance to create a test case that could reach the high court.

Nancy Myers of the National Right to Life Committee said the Senate's failure to override the veto was "unfortunate, but not unexpected." She added, "We're in this for the long haul." Myers predicted the attention of anti-abortion activists will shift to the fall elections.

"As a member of Congress, I consistently voted to curb abortion on demand and to protect the life of a fetus," Roemer, a Democrat, wrote in his veto message. "But over the years of struggling with this issue, I became acutely aware of the need to except those instances where conception occurred because of rape or incest. Women cannot and should not be forced to bear the consequences of these traumatic, illegal acts."

The House voted 73 to 31 - three more votes than needed - to override. The bill received 24 votes when it passed the Senate last month. One senator switched to uphold Roemer's veto in Saturday's 23-to-16 vote.

If the veto had been overridden, it would have been the first time this century that Louisiana legislators had overruled a governor's veto.

by CNB