President Clinton has repeatedly justified his veto by referring to cases in which the baby suffers from advanced hydrocephaly (head enlargement). Speaking in Milwaukee on May 23, President Clinton suggested that Bob Dole or others who would deny a partial-birth abortion in such cases are saying "it's okay with me if they ripped your body to shreds and you could never have another baby."
But this is medical nonsense. Medical specialists commonly deal with cases of severe hydrocephaly by a procedure called cephalocentesis, in which a needle is used to withdraw the excess fluid (but not the brain), reducing the head size so that normal delivery of a live baby can occur. An eminent authority on such matters, Dr. Watson A. Bowes, Jr., professor of ob/gyn (maternal and fetal medicine) at the University of North Carolina, who is co-editor of the Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, wrote to Congressman Charles Canady:
Critics of your bill who say that this legislation will prevent doctors from performing certain procedures which are standard of care, such as cephalocentesis (removal of fluid from the enlarged head of a fetus with the most severe form of hydrocephalus) are mistaken. In such a procedure a needle is inserted with ultrasound guidance through the mother's abdomen into the uterus and then into the enlarged ventricle of the brain (the space containing cerebrospinal fluid). Fluid is then withdrawn which results in reduction of the size in the head so that delivery can occur. This procedure is not intended to kill the fetus, and, in fact, is usually associated with the birth of a live infant.
(Note: Cases of hydrocephaly accounted for less than 4% of Dr.
McMahon's partial-birth abortions, according to his submission to the House Judiciary
Committee.)