On April 30, the NY State Senate passed legislation making a late-term abortion illegal. Under this law, doctors who perform the D & X procedure would be charged with felonies unless they can prove that this procedure was done to save the life of the woman. We suggest that you find out how your state senator voted and let them know how you feel about this vote. In the Assembly, the bill is still in committee and is expected to stay there, at least for this term. Speaker, Sheldon Silver, opposes this bill.

On a Federal level, the Catholic bishops ar mounting a full-scale attack on the Senate to override Clinton's veto of the bill outlawing late-term abortion. It is critical that you contact your Representative and your Senator and tell them you support women who have made the difficult choice to have a late-term abortion and urge them to vote against a veto override. New York State Residents, call Patrick Moynihan who was not present at the last vote and demand that he attend and vote against an override of this bill.

President Clinton signed the Telcommunications Reform Act, which includes amendments to the Comstock Laws and limits free speech on the internet. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is sponsoring a Blue Ribbon Campaign to oppose these measures, and the ACLU has brought a lawsuit to prevent their implementation. The Administration and Justice Department have announced their intent not to enforce specific anti-abortion measures in the law due to a lawsuit brought by NARAL, the Feminist Majority Foundation, Planned Parenthood of New York City, CARAL, the National Abortion Federation, Medical Students for Choice, Adam Guasch-Melendez, and Rhonda Copelon, represented by the Center for Reproductive Law & Policy, to declare this language unconstitutional. Meanwhile, members of Congress are introducing legislation to repeal it and we expect these portions of the Law to be judged unconstitutional and stricken from the books sometime this spring. However, if you've used the Internet to discuss abortion since February 8th -- whether you spoke for it, took no side, or spoke against it -- you may have violated the Comstock Act, as revised by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

You can help repeal these restrictions by filling out a petition opposing such measures or sending the following message to comstop@echonyc.com with your name, address, and e-mail address: "I support the legislation introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder and Senator Frank Lautenberg to repeal a portion of the Comstock Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1462(c), which prohibits the use of express companies (such as UPS, Federal Express, or a trucking company) and the Internet to transport, transmit, or receive information about or materials that can be used to produce abortion." We urge everyone who visits this site to sign the petition, send e-mail or call your Representative.