House tackles abortion

The House of Representatives is likely to revive debate on abortion soon as members yesterday held a closed-door meeting at the chamber to discuss the issue.

House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial declined to comment when asked by reporters after the 30-minute meeting which was held during a break on the session. “Our decision is not to disclose,” he said.

But an unimpeachable source said the House may come up with legislation that will spell out the position of the government whether to allow or outlaw abortion in the Northern Marianas.

The proposed pro-choice or pro-life bill, however, will only be introduced once there is a unified position in the House.

It was not known what prompted the discussion, but the meeting is just one in a series of discussion expected to be conducted on the issue, according to the source.

Under the Constitution, abortion is prohibited. The Legislature, however, can lift that ban. At present, there is no local statutory law that penalizes such practices here.

Abortion has become a thorny issue in the CNMI following allegations leveled by the federal government that it allows forced abortions here, particularly among the nonresident workers coming from the People’s Republic of China.

It also has been one of the reasons used by the Clinton administration to justify attempts to extend federal immigration and labor laws to the island. Local leaders have repeatedly denied these accusations.

Since the 10th Legislature, lawmakers sponsored legislation aimed at setting out a policy regarding abortion practices. However, they never went to the floor for voting.

In the recent measure filed in 1998, the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare decided to scrap the proposal to sanction abortion on demand as it violates the ban as well as local traditions and moral standards.

The proposed Abortion Control Act was offered by Rep. Oscar M. Babauta on the heels of mounting pressure from Washington which had urged the CNMI to clamp down on so-called abortion clinics.

“Abortion is prohibited unless we, the Legislature, choose to allow it. We decline to do so,” stated a report submitted by then HEW chair Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider.

The report was a result of months of committee review and public hearings attended by different church groups and representatives from several community sectors.

The proposed law would have allowed abortion to be performed by doctors in certain circumstances such as in pregnancy caused by rape or incest or in cases where the life of the mother is at risk because of the pregnancy.

At the same time, any abortion performed in violation of the act would have meted punishment of imprisonment of up to 10 years and/or fine of up to $20,000 as well as 30 years in jail and a $50,000 fine if the woman dies.