Here's to an open mind

National | Pro-abort Marge Roukema's vote shows persuasion works | Cal Thomas

Occasionally one finds a political figure with enough integrity to refuse to toe the special-interest line and instead look into an issue and do what's right in light of the evidence.

Rep. Marge Roukema, a pro-abortion moderate Republican from New Jersey, decided that instead of voting in lock-step with the rest of her pro- abortion colleagues, she would go beyond the sloganeering and the sound bites. Though Roukema voted against the original bill banning partial-birth abortion--a procedure in which a fully formed baby is delivered feet first and a shunt inserted in its head sucks out the brains--she switched sides and voted to override President Clinton's veto of the measure.

The reasons Ms. Roukema gave for her change were as honest as they were profound. She said that her concerns about protecting the mother's life had been answered, putting the lie to pro-abortion claims that the bill would jeopardize women's lives. She also said she was satisfied that doctors would not be prosecuted if the procedure was performed in dire circumstances.