Clinton’s Vow To Veto Abortion Bill Blasted

President Clinton’s threatened veto of a bill to ban “partial-birth” abortions was the target of about 250 people who braved a snowstorm for an anti-abortion rally outside the Statehouse.

Organizers blamed the weather for cutting sharply into Saturday’s turnout. Last year, about 1,000 people rallied in Boise to mark the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

“Can this president be stopped from a veto that seeks to kill?” Right to Life of Idaho President Julie Katzenberger asked the crowd.

“Please let President Clinton know that this just isn’t right. Please call, fax, e-mail or write the White House telling President Clinton that if he has any compassion for the unborn child, he should sign this legislation and not veto the partial-abortion ban act.”

The Senate last month voted to ban the rarely used late-term procedure. White House officials have said Clinton, who supports abortion rights, will veto the measure.

But Katzenberger told demonstrators that a veto should rouse them to elect even more candidates who share their view next fall.

“If he does not sign this bill, please remember this election year all his false rhetoric about protecting children from child abuse,” she said. “We must all work to elect pro-life candidates and not take our past victories for granted.”

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade, which declared the right to an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy part of the constitutional right to privacy.

The Idaho Citizens Alliance has proposed an initiative for the November ballot that would further restrict late-term abortions, changing and imposing new criminal and civil penalties for violations.

But the Idaho Supreme Court ruled last month that the ballot titles drafted by Attorney General Alan Lance’s office for the measure were insufficient. That invalidated more than 10,000 signatures of registered voters that the alliance had collected in its campaign to qualify the initiative for the ballot.