All six House members vote for ban

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A bill that would ban so-called partial birth abortions has the backing of the six members of Oklahoma's U.S. House delegation. <br><br>Reps. Tom Coburn, Ernest Istook, Steve

Thursday, April 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A bill that would ban so-called partial birth abortions has the backing of the six members of Oklahoma's U.S. House delegation.

Reps. Tom Coburn, Ernest Istook, Steve Largent, Frank Lucas, Wes Watkins and J.C. Watts were among the 209 Republicans who voted for the bill Wednesday. It was approved 287-141.

As drafted, the House bill seeks to ban abortions in which a doctor "vaginally delivers some portion of an intact living fetus until the fetus is partially outside the body of the mother" and "kills the fetus while the intact living fetus is partially outside the body of the mother."

The only exceptions would be in cases in which the life of the mother was threatened.

"By voting to end this practice, we send the message that life is important, that children are important and that families are important," Watts said.

Coburn, an obstetrician, said the procedure "is never medically necessary in any circumstance." "There is absolutely no medical rationale or other reason to permit this procedure that amounts to infanticide," he said.