CRITICAL VOTE IS COMING ON VETO OVERRIDE

Gov. Mel Carnahan has once again marked himself as a pro-abortion extremist with his veto -- his second in two years -- of a bill banning the form of infanticide known as partial-birth abortion. In vetoing House Bill 427, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan backing, Carnahan stamps himself as incontestably the most pro-abortion governor in Missouri history.

Anyone who doubts this should know that the same week brought other Carnahan vetoes of decidedly modest steps in the pro-life direction. Bills sponsored by state Sen. Harry Wiggins, D-Kansas City, would have created a simple "Missouri Respect Life" commission. They also would have permitted Missourians to apply for -- and upon payment of a special fee, receive -- a license plate that contained the words, "Choose life." What sort of governor vetoes this? What could possibly be wrong with allowing pro-life Missourians the chance to have a license plate containing this innocuous message? The answer is nothing at all, unless you subscribe to a pro-abortion agenda so extreme that it will brook no tolerance for the deeply held views of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Missourians.

Missourians should know that HB 427 -- the partial-birth infanticide bill -- passed the House by a vote of 130-29 and in the Senate by a vote of 28-6. The Senate debate, in particular, was protracted. It consumed more than 38 hours over a total of six days. This is a modern record. The lengthy deliberations are worth mentioning because of the governor's near-hysterical claim that the bill's wording is extreme. Not content to stop there, Carnahan goes on to make a claim that is both absurd and unworthy of serious consideration: that the bill would provide a defense to anyone committing murder of a doctor performing legal abortions. It is a measure of the desperation in the governor's extreme pro-abortion crowd that they are resorting to wild claims of this nature.

The truth is that the prolonged Senate deliberations, while forced by opponents who launched a filibuster against the bill, actually succeeded in strengthening it. This is why the bill enjoyed the incredibly lopsided support that it did, and why most bets are favoring an override of this veto when the Legislature convenes in September for that purpose. In the House, 109 votes are needed; in the Senate, 23. The House override seems assured, while in the Senate it is a closer-run thing. It is expected that all Republicans in both chambers will vote to override. Of particular interest, then, will be those Democrats who voted for the bill in May, such as state Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter. Will Howard vote to override, or will he betray his overwhelmingly pro-life constituents to go along with the extreme pro-abortion governor of his party as he did in 1997?

Missourians will be watching this one closely.