FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MELINDA SHELTON, 202-331-0066 x767; KRISTIN ST. JOHN, 773

NOW LEADERS DENOUNCE DASCHLE ABORTION BILL, WHICH DOES NOT PROTECT WOMEN'S LIVES OR HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1997

NOW Executive Vice President Kim Gandy said today that abortion ban legislation prepared by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is a politically expedient compromise that seriously imperils women's lives and health and expands government intrusion into private medical matters.

"We believe the Daschle approach is unconstitutional, as is the Republican ban that denies a woman the right to an abortion to preserve her health -- a right that Roe v. Wade and other cases have consistently protected," Gandy said.

"Daschle's so-called compromise bill, as quoted in the New York Times, permits an exception to the ban for `a severely debilitating disease or impairment specifically caused by the pregnancy [emphasis added],' but makes no provision for a pre-existing, life- and health-threatening `debilitating disease or impairment' that is being exacerbated by the pregnancy. This could include kidney disease, severe hypertension and some cancers. Nor does the Daschle bill allow for an abortion in cases of severe fetal abnormality where it is unlikely the fetus would live long outside the womb, even with technological support.

"The physician certification requirement and the potential loss of a medical license in the Daschle language invites government scrutiny of private medical matters and threatens doctor-patient confidentiality. The intent of this and other abortion ban bills is to control women and to limit their ability to make critical reproductive decisions that affect their families, their health and their lives. These bills represent the ultimate in Congressional arrogance," Gandy charged.

"President Clinton should not be fooled into thinking that Sen. Daschle's bill is an effective compromise that will meet the needs of women facing a catastrophic pregnancy. It will not," Gandy said. "Congress cannot and should not allow the right wing to use misleading scare tactics to defeat the protections guaranteed by Roe v. Wade."