The Rematch

WASHINGTON, D.C.: House Republicans renewed their effort to ban late-term abortions and forced through a bill identical to the measure vetoed by President Clinton last year. Winning House approval mostly along party lines, the bill's final tally was 295 to 136, enough to override a Presidential veto. If the proposed legislation passes the Senate and survives Clinton's desk, it would penalize anyone who performs the procedure with fines and up to two years in prison. While the bill found widespread GOP support, many House Democrats said it violates a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and does not contain provisions to protect a woman's health. This last point of contention is what caused Clinton to veto the bill in the first place last year. The Administration Thursday made it emphatically clear that if the bill reaches the White House, it would be vetoed again for the same reason. This came as no surprise to House moderates, who bashed the House Rules Committee for endorsing a bill without including some of the revisions Clinton had called for. But the Committee has been helped the panel's decision to push an identical measure might make sense in light of a statement by Ron Fitzsimmons, a prominent abortion rights activist who previously advised Clinton on abortion issues. During last year's debate on the bill, Fitzsimmons assured the President that partial birth abortions were rarely performed and used only to save a woman's life. This gave Clinton the green light to label the bill as somewhat unnecessary. Several weeks ago, however, Fitzsimmons said his assurance was misleading and that the procedure was in fact commonly performed. The recantation may have given Republicans the belief they could ram an unedited bill through the White House. "We need to pass this bill again and give it to the president, give him another chance to do the right thing," said Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon during pre-vote hearings, "because the only reason he vetoed it was because of those lies by Ron Fitzsimmons." Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said after the House vote he did not yet have enough votes in the Senate to override Clinton's promised veto. But if Fitzsimmons' admission and GOP momentum in the House sways the Senate, Clinton might be inclined to drop his threat. Considering the fact that last year's bill came just eight Senatorial votes short of becoming law, that may be more preferable than suffering the indignity of a possible Congressional override.