Rep. John Baldacci is to be commended for his courageous vote against HR 1833, an outrageous bill which the U.S. House of Representatives passed early this month in an attempt to criminalize a rarely performed clinical procedure. Christopher Coughlan (Letter, Nov. 15) implies that in doing so, Rep. Baldacci was not faithful to the will of the people. The facts are that Baldacci expressed his support for women to make choices without inappropriate government intervention as a fundamental campaign position. This is a position he shares with Sens. Cohen and Snowe.

The bill has now been taken up in the Senate. It represents a legislative attempt to override the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision that affirmed a woman’s right to reproductive choice. This proposed late-term abortion ban represents an unprecedented intrusion of politicians into a painful and difficult decision by a woman and her physician.

It is true that the American Medical Association Legislative Council recommended endorsement of this bill — at first. But when all of the facts were available, the AMA ended up opposing it. The comments attributed to Dr. Haskell and another physician alleged to have performed a large number of these procedures have not been verified. The facts are that no one has performed “thousands” of these procedures, because they are extremely rare.

The bill uses the term “partial-birth abortion.” This is not a medical term. It is a phrase coined to sensationalize debate on this issue. Coughlan reiterates an inaccurate description of the procedure intended to elicit horror. It is not a pretty procedure, but then neither is open-heart surgery.

Coughlan says the bill includes an exception if the procedure is necessary to preserve the life of the mother. That’s not true — there are absolutely no exceptions allowed in the bill.

When the bill passed the House, one anti-choice member said outright that this act represented the beginning of the end for abortion. Sens. Cohen and Snowe should recognize this and vote against the bill. Lucia S. Hatch President, Maine NARAL Augusta