1997 Daschle's very bad abortion bill to stop another very bad abortion bill. Bad idea.

The war on women, the war on the reproductive choices of women, the abortion wars have gone on for years.

So often the Democrats have tried to compromise with the GOP's extremists on this and other issues.

I wonder if instead of trying to compromise with those who tolerate no compromise....that we stood our ground and made clear that some rights do not fall within the realm of government control in a democratic society. Take a firm stand instead of offering alternatives that were just a little less bad than those of the opponents.

From CNN 1997:

Clinton May Compromise On Abortion Bill. Daschle proposal is the key

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 13) -- White House officials say President Bill Clinton could accept a Democratic compromise to limit late-term abortions. The proposal is an alternative to Republican legislation that the president has threatened to veto.

Last week Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) introduced an alternative to the contentious abortion bill banning any kind of abortion if the fetus is viable, unless the mother's life is at risk or if the procedure will protect her from "grievous injury."

Daschle's less restrictive bill could serve as a buffer to a bill sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), which is expected to come up for debate in the Senate later this week. Santorum's bill makes no exception for a woman's health, but would allow abortions if the mother's life is at risk. The legislation has already passed the House.

Here are a lot more details about this very bad bill of Tom Daschle.

Daschle Abortion Bill 1997

NOW denounced the bill.

NOW Executive Vice President Kim Gandy said today that abortion ban legislation prepared by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is a politically expedient compromise that seriously imperils women's lives and health and expands government intrusion into private medical matters.

"We believe the Daschle approach is unconstitutional, as is the Republican ban that denies a woman the right to an abortion to preserve her health -- a right that Roe v. Wade and other cases have consistently protected," Gandy said.

"Daschle's so-called compromise bill, as quoted in the New York Times, permits an exception to the ban for `a severely debilitating disease or impairment specifically caused by the pregnancy (emphasis added),' but makes no provision for a pre-existing, life- and health-threatening `debilitating disease or impairment' that is being exacerbated by the pregnancy. This could include kidney disease, severe hypertension and some cancers. Nor does the Daschle bill allow for an abortion in cases of severe fetal abnormality where it is unlikely the fetus would live long outside the womb, even with technological support.

"The physician certification requirement and the potential loss of a medical license in the Daschle language invites government scrutiny of private medical matters and threatens doctor-patient confidentiality. The intent of this and other abortion ban bills is to control women and to limit their ability to make critical reproductive decisions that affect their families, their health and their lives. These bills represent the ultimate in Congressional arrogance," Gandy charged.

More from the link:

Daschle proudly pointed out in an NPR interview in 1997 that his bill was even more restrictive than that of the GOP. Yet it had started out as a defensive bill to stop a worse bill.

SENATOR SPENCER ABRAHAM, (R) Michigan: We should be able to end this process, and we should be able to end it in the context of this legislation, which provides, I think, protections for the life of the mother in sufficient fashion to meet whatever standards society might demand.

KWAME HOLMAN: A Democratic amendment was briefly considered and rejected, giving way to the major alternative of the abortion debate. The bill by Minority Leader Tom Daschle has attracted support of Republicans and yesterday the endorsement of President Clinton.

SENATOR TOM DASCHLE, Minority Leader: That is really the fundamental difference between the two pending bills. We ban abortion; they ban a procedure. They allow all the other abortive procedures available--dilation and evacuation, induction, hysterotomies, hysterectomies--those are still legally available. What we ban are all of those procedures--all of them.

That is a Democratic minority leader saying those words. He was proud of his bill banning more stuff than the Republican bill.

It would have caused physicians to lose their licenses if they did not follow the details of this invasive law.

We can not compromise with extremists. We do better when we take strong stands and speak out for what is right.