Which abortion bill?
McCloskey, Liz Leibold
OF SEVERAL MINDS Liz Leibold McCloskey WHICH ABORTION BILL? WATCH KENNEDY "'-~ uring the 1992 presiden9 tial campaign, Bill ClinD ton promised passage of 9 the Freedom of Choice Act,...
...With these examples, critics of the bill argue that it fails to treat abortion protests equally: a prochoicer who stands in the way of a prolife marcher, yelling threatening remarks and refusing to move, does not violate this law...
...Original and unpublished essays of approximately 2,500-4,000 words should be submitted to the editors of COMMO]qWEAL who will make the final decision following consultation with a panel of experts...
...The more controversial Freedom of Choice Act, which was introduced when it seemed that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, has been delayed in the Senate because supporters fear the attachment of certain "weakening" amendments, such as proposals that call for parental notification and a twenty-fourhour waiting period...
...The Freedom of Access Act of 1993 (S.636) creates criminal penalties and civil redress against "whoever by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person" seeking to obtain or provide abortion services...
...Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe, who testified before Kennedy's committee, argues that such examples reveal less about the weaknesses of the bill's language than they do about the ability of any extreme hypothetical to undermine a sound principle...
...From the euphonious Anthea Dove (1993) to the exotic Ty Mam Duw Community (1992) to the formidable Ed Marciniak (1991), Graymoor winners have written about the difficulties as well as the satisfactions, the personal as well as the theological dimensions of ecumenical work...
...and (2) to define narrowly words such as "intimidate," "interfere with," and "physical obstruction...
...David Gunn in Pensacola Florida, will reach the floor of Congress despite its potential constitutional problems...
...Supporters also cite federal law (18 USC section 245), which prohibits the use of force or the threat of force that interferes Commonweal 16 July 1993:9with a person's right to vote...
...All other essays will be returned to their authors after January 1. COgPIOIIll111mnlk 15 Dutch Street, New York, NY 10038 Amendment's speech clause is thus restricted only when that speech communicates an opposition to abortion...
...No Senator wants to be seen as being "proviolence...
...The editors reserve the right to select more than one winner or not to award the prize at all...
...For example, antidiscrimination laws make it illegal for an employer to fire someone, if the reason for doing so is based on the employer's view of the race, gender, or religion of the worker...
...It is common knowledge on Capitol Hill that the legislation was drafted in such a way so as to allow Senator Kennedy to control its course through the Senate...
...The winning essay will receive $1,000 and will be published in COMMONWEAL...
...WATCH KENNEDY "'-~ uring the 1992 presiden9 tial campaign, Bill ClinD ton promised passage of 9 the Freedom of Choice Act, which would establish a woman's right to an abortion by statute...
...Announcement of Prize: December 17, 1993...
...Despite these constitutional questions, the Senate bill looks as though it may have enough support for passage...
...Opponents of the Freedom of Access bill need to be ready both to make the constitutional arguments against its targeted approach and to amend it to correct its deficiencies...
...The language of the bill raises judicial questions that are most properly the concern of the Senate Judiciary Committee...
...It will be unfortunate, however, if the pressure to act unequivocally against the objectionable violence that has characterized some prolife demonstrations, prevents serious attention to the problems with the Senate and, most especially, the House bill as they are now written...
...Even Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind...
...some time later this summer or in the fall, the Freedom of Access bill will be markedup in his committee and passed through to the full Senate for a vote...
...Supporters of the Freedom of Access bill defend its constitutionality by pointing to other laws that prohibit behavior motivated by certain views...
...When compared to the House version, the Senate bill seems more likely of passage...
...If the bill is successfully couched in these terms, opponents will have difficulty summoning the votes to prevent its consideration...
...their parliamentary maneuvers, rather than trying to assure its passage, have more to do with Kennedy's view that the issues addressed in the bill deserve high priority and quick consideration...
...a prolife Republican and member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, says he supports the intent of the legislation though he has questions about the way it is drafted...
...But the above examples are not extreme hypotheticals...
...In fact, they are probably rather common expressions both by people who have great moral difficulty accepting abortion as well as by people who have great moral difficulty with government's interference in the right of a woman to choose...
...Activity that is otherwise protected by the First THE GRAYMOOR PRIZE The Friars of Atonement announce the fourth annual Graymoor Prize, to be awarded to the best essay on any aspect of ecumenical or interreligious affairs...
...As introduced, it would prohibit a person "with intent to prevent or discourage any person from obtaining reproductive health services from physically [obstructing, hindering, or impeding] the ingress or egress of another to a medical facility...
...The problem with the Freedom of Access bill is that it seems to prohibit forms of behavior that, but for the viewpoint motivating it, would not be regarded as illegal or objectionable...
...On the other hand, Senator Joseph Biden (D-Md...
...Our previous winners have reported from England, Wales, Jerusalem, Eisenach, Germany, and Chicago, among other places...
...A more likely legislative scenario is that some version of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, propelled by the murder this past March of Dr...
...So would a mother standing in the doorway of her home pleading with her daughter to talk to her about the decision she has made to have an abortion...
...My guess is that some modified version of the Senate bill will make it to the president's desk during this Congress...
...Kennedy is able to move legislation in and out of his committee with a certain dispatch because, with ten Democrats and seven Republicans on the committee (two of whom usually side with the Democrats on social issues), he has the votes to do just about anything...
...The prize-winning essay will be published in COMMONWEAL'S January 14, 1994, issue...
...Yet despite its high profile, the Freedom of Choice Act is probably not the prochoice bill that will make it through Congress this year...
...But it has been carefully crafted so that it falls instead under the jurisdiction of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, of which Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass...
...10:16 July 1993 Commonweal...
...The award-winning submission, which may take the form of a scholarly or critical essay or a personal narrative, should appeal to the interests of the general educated reader...
...Deadline: October 1, 1993...
...The Senate bill is not so aggressively unconstitutional: it targets conduct that is harmful, such as the use of force or threat of force, as well as "physical obstruction" motivated by a desire to stop abortion...
...Because the Freedom of Choice Act is being bottled up by its own supporters, the Freedom of Access Act seems to be the most likely prochoice bill to be considered this Congress...
...796), in the view of one Senate staffer, is "off the charts" on constitutional questions...
...June 23: As the bill moves to the Senate floor, revisions have been made (1) to exempt parents or a legal guardian from the penalties or civil remedies...
...The House bill (H.R...
...Whether those questions will be addressed in committee mark-up or on the Senate floor remains to be seen...
...This essay will become the property of the Graymoor Ecumenical Institute...
...and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif...
...is the chairman...
...In fact, in validating portions of Pennsylvania' s abortion law, the Supreme Court in June 1992 upheld such requirements in Casey v. Planned Parenthood...
...Thus it is clear that what is being prohibited is not conduct that is objectively and inherently harmful, such as the use of force, but conduct motivated by the desire to discourage abortion...
...It is very likely that Kennedy wanted the bill in the Labor and Human Resources Committee to assure solid Democratic support and that he was able to bring it there by framing the issue as a public health concern, rather than a judicial or constitutional one...
...And what chance does the bill have in Congress...
...Kennedy' s staff argues that though they have adequate support in the Judiciary Committee, especially from new members Senator Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill...
...who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, would not automatically step in line with Kennedy and might be more concerned about the constitutional implications of legislation that attempts to curtail the expression of a particular viewpoint simply because it has the effect of hindering access to abortion...
...The prize is intended to encourage and support new ecumenical and interreligious ideas and perspectives...
...Very few reasonable people would argue that opponents of abortion have a right to use force or the threat of force to get their point across...
...Why did Kennedy want the bill to go through his committee, even though he also serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee...
...This language does not even mention force or threat of force and is clearly meant to silence anti-abortion protesters since explicit exception is made for labor disputes...
...Kennedy's committee held hearings in May...
...So, for example, a woman who sits in the doorway of an abortion clinic praying the rosary and praying for an end to abortion will violate the law if this bill passes...
Vol. 120 • July 1993 • No. 13
