o Home is where your heart and Inners-Lyle can be QA Wm VorftW ,WrA s. Some in today and experience the latest products in the pretniere Innerstyle Collection of Custom Vertical Blinds from Hunter Douglas. The new styles, Abortion Battle colors and patterns perfectly reflect today's home fashion trends and are all within your reach. Welcome home to Hunter Douglas. \"* The Jewish groups on both sides as Congress moves against partial-birth abortion. window fashions Free In-Home Service • Free Professional Measure At No Obligation (wiiu, quahog I visit our website wvvw.blindsbeautiful.com/thebtindspot 811ND SPOT Call today for a free in-home presentation Southfield • 248-352-8622 Canton • 734-692-5002 21728 W. Eleven Mile Rd. • Harvard Row Mall • Southfield, MI 48076 — HEALTHY— DELIVER Enjoy the convenience of Fresh Gourmet Meals delivered to your doorstep daily! Get In The ZONE Now! 248-646-9700 Lose Weight, Feel Great! www.HealthyGourmetDelivery.com Dieting has never•tasted so good! Temple Beth El's Loren B. Fischer Cultural Arts Series for Children and Their Families proudly presents Gemir accompanied by The Good Mischief Band in a fabulous family concert featuring sing-alongs, folk tales & hand motion tunes Sunday, November 2 12:30 PM Temple Beth El 7400 Telegraph Road at 14 Mile Road 10/24 2003 26 OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY NO CHARGE "If the Pied Piper had been twins, odds are he would have been Gemini." The Detroit News 769710 MATTHEW E. BERGER Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washington ewish groups are closely monitoring progress on a new late-term abortion bill that could become law by the end of the week. The bill, which outlaws a specific procedure technically known as intact dilation and evacuation, is opposed by a majority of Jewish organizations. They say it criminalizes a medical procedure. At least one Orthodox group sup- ports the bill, known as the Partial- Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, arguing that the procedure may be a form of infanticide. The issue for the Jewish communi- ty centers around different interpreta- tions of Halachah, or Jewish law, and whether the mother's health is more important than the life of a fetus. Both sides are gearing up for what they believe will be a long court bat- tle. The U.S. Senate passed the ban Tuesday, Oct. 21, 64-34, three weeks after the House of Representatives passed the same act 281 142. President Bush supports the bill and is expected to sign the legislation into law. President Clinton vetoed similar legislation twice. The measure would be the first restricting abortion to become federal law since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade in 1973. In a so-called "partial-birth abortion," the fetus is partially delivered and then a doctor punctures its skull. The proce- dure is generally carried out relatively late in a pregnancy. Under the new law, doctors who perform the procedure could be fined and jailed for up to two years. Abortion opponents argue that fetuses that are inches away from being born should be protected. "The gruesome and inhumane nature of the partial-birth abortion procedure and its disturbing similari- ty to the killing of a newborn infant promotes a complete disregard for infant human life that can only be Jr - countered by a prohibition of the procedure," the legislation says. Supporters of abortion rights say the procedure is necessary in instances when the mother's health is at stake. While the legislation does exempt doctors who perform the pro- cedure to save the mother's life, many Jewish groups want that provision widened to protect a mother's physi- cal and mental health. But supporters of the ban say there is no evidence of the procedure being used to protect a mother's health. Lawmakers say they have gathered information that shows that the pro- cedure is never used to preserve the health of a woman, that it even poses significant risks to the mother and is outside the standard of medical care. Abortion-rights advocates counter that the bill is vague and could have a chilling effect on doctors who per- form other types of abortions. "The language is so murky that you can't be sure it only covers these late-term abortions," said Lois Waldman, director of the commis- sion on women's equality of the American Jewish Congress. When Is Birth? But one Orthodox group argues that a more narrow interpretation of abortion law is warranted. "The larger question on abortion, which is a very fair question, is: Do we need to have a law that provides a blanket right?" said Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president for government and public affairs at Agudath Israel of America. "The notion that fetal life deserves no pro- tection is wrong." Jewish groups on both sides of the issue are relying on different inter- pretations of Halachah to support their arguments. Reform leaders cite laws indicating that the life of the mother is paramount and has a high- er value than the "potential life" of the fetus. "In Jewish law, we are commanded to take care of our health and the well-being of our bodies," said Barbara Weinstein, legislative direc- tor for the Religious Action Center