November 9, 1995
Web posted at: 1 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After a heated debate marked by graphic pictures of late-term abortions, Senate conservatives failed Wednesday to pass a ban on the procedure they call "partial-birth abortions."
In a 90-7 vote, the Senate decided to send the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearings which are to include testimony from medical experts. Several moderate Republicans supported Democratic efforts to postpone a vote on the bill.
Among them was Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, the sponsor of the motion. "The reality is that it's a very difficult subject and the medical authority on it is very divided," Specter said. "The committee is going to take a look in a very serious way at the question of whether this is an appropriate form of abortion."
The ban was passed last week by the House, marking the first time either body of Congress has outlawed an abortion procedure since the Roe vs. Wade decision of 1973.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bob Smith, R-New Hampshire, announced moments before the vote that he would not oppose a move to send the bill to committee. "Sen. (Robert) Dole and I have discussed this and while neither of us think this is necessary, we do think it may not be a bad idea in that the more one learns about this horrible procedure, the harder it is to defend."
President Clinton has said he will veto the bill if passed by Congress. In a statement released Tuesday, the White House said the bill "fails to provide for consideration of the need to preserve the life and health of the mother, consistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade."
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