Paige Wassel
Editor-in-Chief
Senate approves partial-birth abortion ban: On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that would ban partial-birth abortion—marking the “first federal ban on a specific abortion procedure.” The measure, which passed in a 64-to-34 vote, “prohibits an ‘overt act’ to ‘kill the partially delivered living fetus.’” Majority Leader Bill Frist said, “The legislation we just passed will save lives. We have just outlawed a procedure that is barbaric, that is brutal, that is offensive to our moral sensibilities and it is out of the mainstream of the ethical practice of medicine today.” Although President Bush is currently traveling in Asia, he said that he is looking forward to signing the bill when he returns to the United States, according to a New York Times article. Opponents to the bill say that the measure is unconstitutional and violates the woman’s right to privacy. The Center for Reproductive Rights, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Abortion Federation said they will file suit to keep the law from taking effect after it is signed.
Iran agrees to inspections: This week, Iran officials agreed to stricter international inspection of its nuclear sites and to temporarily stop the production of enriched uranium, an ingredient of nuclear weapons. However, Iran did not agree to stop uranium production altogether or allow surprise inspections of their nuclear sites, a stipulation outlined under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1968. The agreement was made during a visit by three European foreign ministers: Dominique de Villepin of France, Jack Straw of Britain and Joschka Fischer of Germany. Washington officials have expressed doubt that Iran will follow through on the agreement. According to a New York Times article, a senior department official said, “Frankly, I'd say there's a good reason for healthy skepticism about what Iran will actually do, as opposed to what it says.” Under the new arrangement, Iran would have to allow United Nations officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor their nuclear programs.
Study shows number of inmates to be mentally ill: According to a recent study put out by Human Rights watch, one in five of the 2.1 million Americans in jail and prison are seriously mentally ill—a figure greater than the number of mentally ill currently in mental hospitals. The study also found that, in recent years, the level of mental illness among prison inmates is growing more severe and there are a higher number of female inmates with a mental illness that are admitted than male inmates. The study also claimed that the structure of prison and solitary confinement may actually compound the problems of the mental illness. However, the study also showed that there is no clear national figure for the number of mentally ill inmates since the classification of “mentally ill” is measured differently in different states.
-Compiled by Paige Wassel with information from the New York Times.