The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is a shining example of spinning an actual law.

You can read the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 at FindLaw.com.

Notice the two definitions given for the term “partial-birth abortion.”

The first is given in the Findings, in Section 2.1:

A moral, medical, and ethical consensus exists that the practice of performing a partial-birth abortion — an abortion in which a physician delivers an unborn child’s body until only the head remains inside the womb, punctures the back of the child’s skull with a sharp instrument, and sucks the child’s brains out before completing deliveryof the dead infant — is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited.

Who in their right mind would read that description and decide that, if nothing else, it describes a gruesome procedure that should be, if anything, a last resort?

What voting politician or active pundit would want their name linked to a support for such a procedure?

Good Lord, let’s ban that “partial-birth abortion” right now, except in cases of dire medical necessity.

First, let’s go ahead and read more than the first paragraph of this bill, though. May as well make sure nobody snuck anything into it.

Hrm, what’s this?

It looks like the definition of the term “partial-birth abortion” under the Prohibitions section is different that what was described in the Findings.

(b) As used in this section – (1) the term ‘partial-birth abortion’ means an abortion in which — (A) the person performing the abortion deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and (B) performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus;

Hrm…

Suddenly, ANY FORM of vaginal abortion is considered “partial-birth abortion.”

Wow.

Good thing that we, unlike everyone else (including our representatives), read the full text.

Too bad the Supreme Court seems to have gotten stuck on the first definition and ignored the second.