Here’s one thing we can learn from the anti-abortion movement: the saying if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again is not a mere clichŽ. It is a general truth, alive and kicking. Conservatives have been pushing new abortion restrictions since the historic Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, decided nearly 30 years ago. Hitting brick wall after brick wall, even in 1994 when Republicans regained control of the House and the Senate from the Democrats, conservatives showed more endurance than Rocky training for the big fight. They had the guts to bring their cause straight to the desk of then-President Clinton. But no go Clinton was committed to abortion rights. But now conservatives have finally blown down the house. In November of this year, President Bush signed into law legislation to outlaw the procedure abortion opponents call partial birth abortion.

Think about it. Partial Birth Abortion. That is one revolting image. Who wouldn’t want to outlaw something like that? Partial Birth Abortion. It makes you sick to say it, never mind think about it. The only problem is that this procedure, also known as D&X (short for Dilation and Extraction), is rarely used for reasons other than to save the mother’s life (you know girls, similar to a D&C, except that in the case of a D&X the doctor squashes the baby’s head). Now, even if a doctor believes this procedure necessary to preserve the health and fertility of a woman, he or she is out of luck, not to mention the luckless female patient. The legislation fails to include an exception to allow the procedure in instances when it is deemed necessary to protect the health of the woman. It would be illegal and the doctor could face a fine and a two-year jail term. To save a woman’s life is to be a criminal. Did you know that President Bush went to medical school?

But the real agenda behind the legislation is the desire to get a foothold in the effort to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The New York Times has reported that if you read the fine print, you will see that the measure makes sweeping generalizations, criminalizing common procedures used after the first trimester. The measure also repeats key features that led the Supreme Court to reject a similar state law, particularly the absence of a clause to protect the health of a woman. That, by the way, is constitutionally required.

Now none of this is to deny that abortion is a complex matter. It is also a very personal one. And then there is that sticky issue that has always dogged this debate when exactly does a fetus become a life? If it is a life, does that make abortion murder?

And on and on.

Then again, it helps to keep in mind the identities of the most vocal supporters of the bill. When Bush signed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, he was surrounded by the bill’s Congressional sponsors: a large group of stodgy, white men, all wearing dark suits and smiles. There you have it. The same old misunderstanding. Or perhaps it’s just a blind spot.

Men of any race, attire or mood do not get pregnant. Women do. Women are mothers. Women have babies. Yet there were no women in the picture (or babies). But the decision to terminate a pregnancy belongs to women. As much as it is desirable to see early abortions performed as rarely as those of partial birth, a woman’s right to choose cannot be compromised. And it has been. This new law is a step backward for women across America. It is now up to the Supreme Court to allow the baby to be thrown out with the bathwaterif need be.