Kagan in '97 urged Clinton to ban late abortions

[arcos]

Kagan in '97 urged Clinton to ban late abortions

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – As a White House adviser in 1997, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan urged then-President Bill Clinton to support a ban on late-term abortions, a political compromise that put the administration at odds with abortion rights groups.

Documents reviewed Monday by The Associated Press show Kagan encouraging Clinton to support a bill that would have banned all abortions of viable fetuses except when the physical health of the mother was at risk. The documents from Clinton's presidential library are among the first to surface in which Kagan weighs in on the thorny issue of abortion.

The abortion proposal was a compromise by Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle. Clinton supported it, but the proposal failed and Clinton vetoed a stricter Republican ban.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100511/ap_on_re_us/us_kagan_abortion;_ylt=AnULV1dJFNg3GDjL9b335v.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNoOGpoMjUyBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTExL3VzX2thZ2FuX2Fib3J0aW9uBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDOARwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDa2FnYW5pbjk3dXJn

[FrenchieCat]

1. Do we have those documents for us to review?

Because I believe the ban was on Late term abortion with exceptions for the health of the mother,
and what passed was a Late term abortion without exception,
which Clinton Vetoed.

I'm not a great big fan of later term abortion for reasons other
than the health of the mother, and neither was Roe v. Wade. Are you?

But better still, do we have those documents?
Cause AP is after all AP.

NARAL is not being reactionary on this, and neither is NOW.

[napi21]

2. Apparently the current law bans ALL LTA's period. I know I've

heard that the DR. who was killed only did LTA's when there was a seiou problem. One lady was 8 1/2 mo's pregnant and the fetus died. The local Docs refused to perform an abortion or C-sec. because they said they weren't permitted to do so. That lady went to that Doc who was killed and h performed it.

How sick are people who would ban omething like that?

[FrenchieCat]

3. Sick. But that isn't what Kagan advised, nor what Bill Clinton proposed.

Neither proposed banning later term abortions outright.
The Republican congress still passed Late term regardless of the Mother's health,
and Clinton vetoed it.

When did what you are talking about passed? I don't remember Late Term Abortion without exception passing.

[napi21]

6. I don't think it ever did. The Dr. who did the LTA was the one

who was murdered by the RW activist. There was a TV program about it and the woman told all about how the fetus had died before it was born but no regular Dr. would remove it from her because they were afraid of losing their picense to practice. That show had several women on who were caught up in the weird laws that exist and howsad it was that people don;t understand that wimen din;t just decude to abort a baby 2 weeks before it's to be born! All the LTA's have serious medical conditions associated with them.

The objectors are just single minded and blinded people!

[Oregone]

5. "Are you?"

Yes. Huge fan here. They should mandate it.

If you met half the people I have, you would undoubtedly agree.

[AtomicKitten]

4. It's an interesting argument.

In theory I can find some agreement with a ban on late term (third trimester) D&Es except for the physical health of the mother, however, I worry that that's the slippery slope that will lead to further chipping away of a woman's right to choose. For years the wingnuts have been working state by state legislating limiting access to abortion. Yielding an inch to them is dangerous.