2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 3, 2004 NATION/WORLD Partial birth abortion bill approved NEWS IN BRIEF in House, moves to Senate for vote JERUSALEM Israei construction violates peace pa Legislation for the first ban of abortion procedure since Roe v. Wade passes in House WASHINGTON (AP) - The House voted decisive- ly yesterday for the first ban of an abortion procedure since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling that women have a right to end their pregnancies. Strong- -, ly supported by President Bush, the bill could be on his desk for signature in days. The 281-142 vote culminated an eight-year drive by the Republican-led House to end the procedure that abortion opponents call partial birth abortion. The Senate could take up the bill as early as Friday and send it to the president. "Today's action is an important step that will help us continue to build a culture of life in America," Bush said in a statement. "I look forward to the Sen- ate passing this legislation so that I can sign this very important bill into law." Abortion rights groups, citing court rulings strik- ing down similar state laws, say the legislation is unconstitutional and they will challenge it as soon as it becomes law. Doctors who violate the ban would be subject to up to two years in prison. The law would not affect women having the operation. The legislation bans a procedure, generally in the second or third trimester, in which a fetus is N. Korea admi SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea said yesterday it was using plutonium extracted from some 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods to make atomic bombs, alarming South Korea and other Asian countries that -feared the assertion would jeopardize efforts to .resolve the nuclear dispute peacefully. It was unclear whether the announcement was a sign North Korea has turned its back on the possi- bility of giving up its nuclear capabilities, or was an attempt to gain leverage ahead of any talks on the matter. The North has made similar provocative statements since the nuclear crisis started a year ago, but has engaged in two rounds of talks involv- ing U.S. officials in Beijing since then. "The (North) successfully finished the reprocess- ing of some 8,000 spent fuel rods," an unidentified spokesman from the communist nation's Foreign Ministry said in the statement carried by its official news agency, KCNA. American intelligence analysts believe North Korea already has at least one or two nuclear bombs. When reprocessed with chemicals, 8,000 rods can yield y enough plutonium to make five or six more, accord- ing to experts. North Korea may have reprocessed some rods after U.N. inspectors left the country in January, U.S. officials believe, but how much is unclear. The number is believed to be well under all 8,000, however. American officials say reprocessing stopped a few :weeks ago and has not restarted. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said yes- terday the United States had not confirmed the North Korean claim, adding, "They've made that statement before." "There's no legitimate use for plutonium har- partially delivered before a doctor punctures the skull. The opposing sides differ on the medical necessity or the numbers of such abortions, but they agree the bill will have far-reaching ramifi- cations. "Abortion will stay legal," said House Majori- ty Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), a strong supporter of the restriction. But he added, "After a genera- tion of bitter rhetoric, the American people have turned away from the divisive politics of abor- tion and embraced the inclusive politics of life." "Don't ever forget, this is about Roe v. Wade," said Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y), referring to the 1973 Supreme Court decision making abortion legal. "It's about restricting access to safe medical procedures throughout a pregnancy." While the vote was mainly along party lines, four Republicans voted against the bill and 63 Democrats supported it. The House has passed the bill on an almost annual basis since Republicans won control in 1995, but President Clinton twice vetoed it, say- ing it lacked an exception to protect the health of the mother. The health factor was also key to the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in 2000 to overturn a similar Nebraska state ban. The high court also ruled that the Nebraska law was unconstitutional because its defi- nition of partial birth - not a medical term - was too vague. ts to making i vested during these procedures," McClellan said. "It would be a clear indication that they are intent on enlarging their nuclear arsenal, despite the call from the international community for North Korea to change its behavior." In its statement yesterday, North Korea accused the United States of a "hostile policy" toward the country and said it had "made a switchover in the use of plu- tonium churned out by reprocessing spent fuel rods in the direction (of) increasing its nuclear deterrent force." North Korea has claimed before to have reprocessed its pool of 8,000 spent rods, but yes- terday marked the first it said the plutonium has been used to make nuclear weapons. South Korea expressed concern. "This latest North Korean statement could hurt efforts to resolve the nuclear problem peacefully, hurt development of South-North Korean relations and damage the atmosphere of dialogue," South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong- kil said. Japan and China did not comment, but other Asian governments said they were concerned. "Any steps that bring nearer the prospect of nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula would be a source of great concern to Indonesia," Indone- sian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natale- gawa said. Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said it was unfortunate and would make the nuclear standoff "more difficult to resolve." The existence of more than one weapon could mean the isolated regime might part with one bomb, either in a test or by selling it, although a Writers of the bill said they had met the court's objections by tightening the definition and adding findings to show the practice is never needed for health reasons. "Partial birth abortion is dangerous to women and is never medically necessary to preserve a woman's health," said Rep. Steve Chabot (R- OHIO) a chief sponsor. Chabot said the procedure is "akin to infanticide." But Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the bill is written so that any mid- or late-term abortion could be subject to criminal charges. "What the law does is prevent doctors from using the safest medical procedures to terminate a pregnancy as early as 12 weeks," she said. Her group is one of several that says it will file a lawsuit as soon as the bill is signed into law. The National Abortion Federation, repre- sented by the American Civil Liberties Union, will also file suit and seek to block enforcement. Kate Michelman, president of NARAL Pro- Choice America, said a key issue is whether Bush, if he wins a second term, will nominate judges to the Supreme Court who are hostile to Roe v. Wade. "This case could either be used to overturn Roe or to eviscerate the protections guaranteed by Roe," she said. But Tony Perkins of The Family Research Council said the bill reflected a shift in American attitudes toward abortion. 1uclear bombs Israel announced yesterday it would build 565 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, violating a U.S.-backed peace plan and angering Palestinians already seething over plans to build a security barrier deep into the West Bank. The "road map" peace plan requires a freeze in construction in some 150 Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war. However, an Israeli official said Israel did not have any responsibility to meet its obligations until Palestinians crack down on militant groups. "The road map is stalled as long as there is no action taken by the Palestini- ans to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," said Zalman Shoval, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. When asked whether the U.S. government backed that interpretation, he said, "This is our understanding, the understanding that we have had all along, and we haven't changed it." The Israeli government says it needs the new buildings to account for what it calls the "natural growth" of the settlements,.even though the vast majority of the new units were planned for a single settlement that is being dramatically expanded. WASHINGTON U.S. expert finds limited evidence of WMDs Chief U.S. weapons searcher David Kay reported yesterday he had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a finding that brought fresh con- gressional complaints about the Bush administration's pre-war assertions of an imminent threat from Saddam Hussein. Kay, in a report to Congress, described evidence of a possible small-scale biological weapons effort, and said searchers had substantial evidence of an Iraqi push to boost the range of its ballistic missiles beyond prohibited ranges. But his team had found only limited evidence of any chemical weapons effort, he said, and there was almost no sign that a significant nuclear weapons project was under way. "We have not found at this point actual weapons," Kay said. "It does not mean we've concluded there are no actual weapons." "In addition to intent, we have found a large body of continuing activities and equipment that were not declared to the U.N. inspectors when they returned in November of last year," he said. AP PHOTO A South Korean Army soldier talks on his radio near the North Korean border village of Panmunjom, north of Seoul, South Korea. senior official and the main communist newspa- per, Rodong Sinmun, said North Korea has pledged not to export its nuclear capability. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon said the North is expanding its "nuclear deterrence" but wouldn't say how many weapons it has, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. ANGORE ADDA, Pakistan Offensive leads to Al- Qaida arrests, deaths Pakistani soldiers swooped down on an al-Qaida mountain hideout in the country's forbidding tribal region yes- terday, killing 12 suspected terrorists and capturing 18 others in the military's largest-ever offensive against Osama bin Laden's network. It was not clear whether any senior al-Qaeda figures were among the dead or captured, who all appeared to be for- eigners, army officials said. The area in Pakistan's fiercely autonomous Waziristan region has long been considered a likely hiding place for bin Laden, a Saudi exile, and his top deputy, Ayman al- -Zawahri, an Egyptian. A battle was ongoing late yesterday, and authorities believed several dozen al-Qaeda fugitives were still in the area, said Maj. Gen. Ameer Faisal, the com- mander of the operation. "The operation will continue until they are captured or killed," he said. SAN DIEGO Charges of groping clout governor's race Confronted with fresh allegations that he groped women, Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger apologized yesterday for having "behaved badly sometimes" and pleaded with voters just days before California's recall election for the chance to show that he has changed. The admission came just as the action hero appeared to be picking up steam as the front-runner to replace Gov. Gray Davis in Tuesday's historic election. Some political analysts predict- ed serious harm to Schwarzenegger, whose standing among women voters was poor even before the latest furor. Taking the stage to chants of "Arnold, Arnold," Schwarzenegger immediately addressed the issue at a campaign event in San Diego. LONDON Vibrating shoes help elderly with balance A buzz in the soles may keep elderly people on their toes and reduce the risk of debilitating falls, preliminary research suggests. The experiment, outlined this week in The Lancet medical journal, found that elderly people showed signs of better bal- ance when they stood on a pair of bat- tery-operated randomly vibrating insoles. Although users aren't conscious of the subtle buzz, the idea is that the vibrations amnplifyt balance-related signals between the feet and the brain that become dulled with age or illness. Experts said the research shows promise but scientists need to see if the technique improves bal- ance when people walk, turn or reach. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. Whnfiction meets reality, all sorts I ~ Goodnight Desdermona (Good Morning Juliet) An award-winning parody of Shakespeare by Ann-Marie MacDonald Directed by Suzi Regan October 2 - 4 & 9 - 11 at 8pm October 5 & 12 at 2pm Trueblood Theatre General Admission $15- Students $8 w/ID League Ticket Office 734-764-2538 WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. 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Janna Hutz, Mira Levitan r I r 0 On-Campus Recruiting at Universi of Michigan, Ann Arbor MIT Lincoln Laboratory stands as a driving force behind the nation's most exciting and challenging technological advances-carrying out our mission of applying science and advanced technology to critical problems of national security. We offer the competitive salary and benefits you'd expect from a premier technology employer hiring top-tier scientific thinkers. The Laboratory will be hosting an on-campus information Y.44 E~ii ...... C CCII H !"HM \ L ..l. r If you are pursuing a degree in any of the following majors or a comparable scientific or technical field, our technical staff members would like to consider you for an on-campus interview: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PHYSICS AERONAUTICS/ASTRONAUTICS MOLECULAR BIOLOGY/ B MATHEMATICS BIOCHEMISTRY COMPUTER SCIENCE MATERIALS SCIENCE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING You must apply by using your Career Center's online recruitment system by October 11, 2003. r r W- '19