I reject the Bill's premise entirely:
The Bill presupposes that we had the power to regulate abortion in the Regions in the first place - I would strenuously argue that we do not, and further the history of our nation bears this out.
Never has any argument been put forward that the present enumerated powers of the Senate as contained in Article I, Section 8 would extend to allowing the Senate to regulate abortion.
After the Fritz v. Ernest decision in late 04, this body passed a Powers Amendment which gave it powers over various things in order to reauthorise several Laws. I, however, was of the judgement that it did not give us authority to regulate abortion. Thus I publicly stated that in my capacity as Attorney General I would not allow the Department of Justice to enforce the
Boss Abortion Act (as noted
here). None of my successors overrode my decision, and the Act was ultimately repealed in the Second Miscellany Act. So certainly the history of action on the part of several government officers has been that Laws regulating abortion in the Regions could not be enforced by the federal government, and this body effectively endorsed that interpretation by passing the Second Miscellany Act.
The bill is effectively announcing a doctrine that is already settled as a part of our constitutional Law, and is therefore totally redundant. I do not pass redundant Laws, therefore I rise in opposition to the Bill.
