Abortion Ban Focus Of Initiative Proponents Want To Stop Late-Term Procedure

Washington voters are being asked to ban a medical procedure so rare that nobody can remember the last time it was performed.

Initiative 694 proponents say they want to end “partial-birth infanticide” and stop the killing of fetuses once they enter the birth canal. They say the initiative has nothing to do with abortion.

Although the initiative never names the medical procedure in question, the description is closest to intact dilation and extraction. That’s when a doctor pulls a late-term fetus into the birth canal, then collapses the skull before it is delivered.

National polls show support for banning this procedure, which is also called partial-birth abortion. But opponents say the initiative is so vague that it could ban all abortions and some methods of contraception.

The initiative made it on the ballot with more than 216,000 signatures, one of the highest signature-validation rates in state history. The Committee to Stop Infanticide circulated the petitions mainly in churches and without paid signature gatherers.

“If this initiative passes, it would ensure that a child in the process of birth could not be killed,” said Cindy Omlin, the secretary on the board of Right to Life of Spokane.

“What this would do is to outlaw infanticide, which is the killing of an infant.”

The initiative is another salvo in the war over abortion.

In 1970, Washington became the third state to legalize abortion, and the first to do so by an initiative vote.

Since then, state voters have faced abortion at the polls two times - opposing limits on abortion each time. Next week’s abortion vote will be the fourth since 1970.

In 1996, 26,396 abortions were reported for Washington state residents, the most recent year for which statistics are available. About 86 percent of those abortions were performed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

About 73 percent of the abortions statewide in 1996 were performed in King and Pierce counties. Only 8 percent were done in Spokane County.

Only three late-term abortions were performed in 1996, but those were not reported as dilation and extraction abortions, the Washington Center for Health Statistics show. Those abortions, performed after 27 weeks gestation, were done because of fetus abnormalities, doctors reported.

I-694 supporters say abortion would still be available if the initiative passes. They say the measure would ban an “unnecessary and hideous” procedure that ends the lives of helpless children as they are being born.

The measure would make an exception to save the woman’s life - but not just for the sake of her health.

The initiative redefines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy within the uterus or womb. It defines birth as beginning when any living fetus leaves the womb by any means, including artificial extraction.

Similar laws with similar wording have passed in 28 states. They have been legally challenged in 20 states, and 19 have either limited the laws or stopped them from going into effect. President Clinton vetoed a federal ban earlier this year.

Initiative proponents say they have a tough fight. Omlin makes signs with friends in her Mead home: plastic banners that say “Stop partial-birth infanticide,” with blue feet and pink hands.

“Right now, it’s nip and tuck from what I’ve heard,” Omlin said.

Even some abortion opponents aren’t that familiar with I-694.

Shawn Nicholls protests occasionally in front of the main Spokane branch of Planned Parenthood. The clinic performs most of the abortions in the area, although only up to the 13th week of pregnancy.

On a recent Friday, Nicholls leaned against a metal fence, over a sign that read, “Warning: Video surveillance in progress,” and described partial-birth abortion graphically. But he hasn’t seen the initiative and doesn’t know its number. Still, he supports the proposal - and he votes.

“I do know how partial-birth abortion is performed, and that it can be done, like at seven months,” he said.

The people against the initiative are well-organized. They have raised more than $564,000 - more than four times as much money as initiative supporters. They have pages of endorsements from groups such as the Washington State Medical Association, Group Health Cooperative and the Northwest Women’s Law Center.

Dr. Elizabeth Bianchi is the medical director at Planned Parenthood in Spokane. She said the initiative is loosely worded and doesn’t use standard medical terminology.

“It’s a scary initiative,” she said. “I think it’s inflammatory.”

John Nugent, the executive director of Planned Parenthood of Spokane and Whitman Counties, said the initiative would change the definition of pregnancy from an embryo’s implantation to conception. So contraception devices such as IUDs theoretically could be banned under the initiative, he said.

Nugent also said the vague language could be interpreted to ban early-term abortions.

Most abortions require dilating the cervix and removing the fetus through the womb. The initiative could be interpreted to ban those abortions, he said.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HISTORY In 1970, Washington became the third state to legalize abortion, and the first to do so by an initiative vote. Since then, voters have faced abortion at the polls two times - opposing limits on abortion each time.