Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 19, 1993 TAG: 9306220349
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The legislation does not codify Roe vs. Wade but goes way beyond Roe. The House version does not contain restrictions currently permitted by Roe (Casey decision), which include:
Parental notification or consent for minors seeking abortion.
Informed consent detailing non-inflammatory information on fetal development and alternatives such as adoption.
Waiting periods.
Conscience clauses for hospitals or health-care workers.
Amendments to include the above were presented to the House Judiciary Committee and were struck down. According to recent Gallup and Wirthlin polls, most Americans (between 74 percent and 82 percent, depending on which poll) favor these modest restrictions. Pro-abortion people know they will cut heavily into their multimillion-dollar-a-year industry, and therefore are attempting to deceive the public and Congress into believing that the legislation merely codifies Roe vs. Wade. These people want the promotion of only one choice - abortion on demand without restrictions or truthful information.
Kay B. Hutchison, recently elected to the Senate from Texas and a self-described moderate on abortion, pledged during her campaign to vote against the Freedom of Choice Act because, as she described it, it is "extremist and beyond the mainstream." ANTHONY CONRAD COVINGTON
by CNB