Arkansas Bars Late-Term Abortions
Arkansas Bars Late-Term Abortions
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 28) -- In what one legislator called a message for President Bill Clinton, Arkansas lawmakers have voted 78-3 to bar late-term abortions. "I hope this sends a message to President Clinton that the people of his home state are opposed to this procedure," said state Rep. Jim Hendren, who sponsored the bill. "He needs to consider this when they put a bill on his desk very similar to what we just passed." Clinton has promised to exercise his veto if a similar federal measure again reaches his desk. The House of Representatives approved a late-term abortion ban on March 20. The Arkansas measure permits the so-called "intact dilation and evacuation" procedure only if the mother's life is in danger. Other states that have banned the procedure include Georgia, Michigan, Utah and Ohio.
Bush Says He Never Did It
ARLINGTON, Va. (AllPolitics, March 28) -- Ex-President George Bush says he never solicited campaign funds from the White House or rewarded donors with stays at the Executive Mansion. In an interview with USA Today, Bush said, "I know that I never made one single phone call or sat in any single meeting where money was asked for -- ever -- in the White House." President Bill Clinton is under fire for rewarding donors with Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers or White House coffees, and Vice President Al Gore has admitted he made fund-raising calls from his White House office. That didn't happen on his watch, said the parachuting ex-president. "There was never any quid pro quo in terms of use of the White House, staying in the White House, anything to do with that, Air Force One, Camp David -- you name it," Bush said. He said he did socialize with donors, but claimed that was not fund-raising. From the vantage point of his Houston home, Bush said, Washington "looks awful and ugly."
'Dirty Tricks' Against Perot A Trick?
DALLAS (AllPolitics, March 28) -- Remember when Texas businessman Ross Perot abandoned his 1992 presidential bid, accusing Republicans of conducting a dirty tricks campaign against him, including what seemed like a far-fetched plot to disrupt his daughter's wedding? Now a private investigator claims that he tricked Perot into believing the GOP was out to get him. "It was a lie," Scott Barnes told The Dallas Morning News. "We orchestrated the whole thing." Barnes said he and David Taylor, a former British Broadcasting Corp. producer, tricked Perot because Barnes believed George Bush had to be replaced as president. Barnes claims he convinced Perot that his telephones were being tapped and Republicans had compromising pictures of one of his daughters. Perot spokesman Russ Verney called Barnes a "class 'A' hustler" just seeking media attention.
Immigration Changes May Be Delayed
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 28) -- A federal judge will decide whether to delay for 30 days parts of the new immigration law that make it easier to deport illegal immigrants. Civil rights attorneys went to court on Thursday, arguing the government failed to give a required 30-day notice of what they called "drastic" changes. The new rules, set to go into effect April 1, make it easier for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport undocumented workers and bar travelers arriving in the U.S. with invalid or fraudulent documents. Lawyers say they don't like the policy changes, but the only issue before the court is procedural. The regulations were published in the Federal Register on March 6, five days short of the 30-day advance notice requirement.