For more information on these and other pro-life issues, check out www.californiaprolife.org.
Abortionist Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter
On April 5, Bruce Steir, a circuit-riding abortionist, who served as the medical director for the Feminist Women’s Health Centers, finally uttered the words, "I plead guilty, your honor," to a charge reduced from second degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Steir, who was on probation, but legally practicing in a clinic where the physician-owner, Joseph Durante, was also on probation, mutilated and abandoned Sharon Hamptlon of Barstow late on a December afternoon in 1996. Then as Steir headed for a plane, Sharon died while holding her 4 year old son in the back seat of a car, as her mom drove her home from the Moreno Valley abortion clinic.
It’s rare that an abortionist is even charged in these cases, so the Riverside D. A.’s office is to be commended for doing so. Unfortunately Steir is likely to serve less than a year, plus 5 years probation-- certainly not commensurate to the crime. Considering the wake of mutilations in his path-- through Florida, Seattle, Camp Pendleton, and at least half a dozen in the San Francisco bay area, it is astounding that the California Medical Board had not pulled his license long ago. He finally surrendered it in 1997.
Partial-Birth Abortion
U.S. House of Representatives Passes a Ban for the Third Time
The U. S. House of Representatives passed a ban on partial-birth abortions for the third time on April 5. The vote of the full House was 287-141, enough to provide the 2/3 vote necessary to override the expected veto of President Clinton. The California delegation, however was not much help. Our 52 member delegation voted 24 for, and 27 against the ban-- with Tom Campbell, the Republican candidate running against Diane Feinstein for U.S. Senate this fall, ducking the vote. Except for Steve Horn of Lakewood, and Steve Kuykendall of Torrance, all Republicans in the delegation voted for the ban. Except for Joe Baca of Rialto, Gary Condit of Ceres, and Marty Martinez of Alhambra, all Democrats voted against the ban. Please call Joe Baca’s district office and express your gratitude for voting pro-life on his first abortion vote in Congress-- 909-885-2222.
77 Democratic members of the House voted for the ban-- including some who consider themselves "pro-choice," like Minority Leader, Richard Gephardt of Missouri.
The differences in the House and Senate bills need to be reconciled before a ban makes it to Clinton’s desk. Ultimately, we need to convince two more U.S. Senators before the Congress can override the President’s veto. (Or elect a pro-life President in November!)
CA Attorney General Bill Lockyer Files a Brief
Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a brief on behalf of the abortionist respondent in the case before the U. S. Supreme Court which will decide whether Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abortions will be upheld-- and set a precedent for whether similar bans in more than two dozen states will be allowed to stand. (Don Stenberg v. Leroy Carhart, M.D., No. 99-830)
Lockyer’s brief (on our behalf) states in part, "if the state can criminalize one safe abortion method, it could raise questions about whether other methods could also be banned. Indeed, one of the only remaining second-trimester abortion methods, intrauterine saline instillation, has been the target of a statutory ban in the past. . . Such a course would quickly eviscerate Roe and Casey, as those cases surely do not stand for the proposition that as long as there is one legal abortion procedure that is safe for most women, all others may be banned."
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses Clinton’s Request to Participate
The U. S. Supreme Court denied Clinton’s Justice Department the right to oppose state bans on partial-birth abortions when the oral arguments will be made on April 25th. Clinton’s lawyers had wanted to argue that the law is too broadly written, that it unduly burdens a woman’s right to an abortion, and that the "ban therefore forces at least some pregnant women to forgo a safer abortion method for one that would compromise their health."
A decision is expected in the case by late June.
California Senate Health Committee to Take up State Ban
The Senate Health Committee is now expected to take up Senator Ray Haynes bill to ban partial-birth abortions in California on April 26. Write to Senator Ray Haynes at the State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814 and tell him that you support SB 1827.
Please urge any health professionals on your list to register their support, as well.
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions
A poll commissioned by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Knights of Columbus found that sixty-eight percent of Americans support a law banning partial-birth abortions. Only 19.6% opposed a ban and 13.4% did not know, or gave no answer. As usual, more women than men oppose partial-birth abortions, and younger men and women oppose it more than their elders.
Please check out our website, which is daily adding information to assist you in your pro-life commitment. Go to www.californiaprolife.org.