'The baby's fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking..."

Those are the words that registered nurse Brenda Pratt Shafer used to describe a tiny baby boy 26 and a half weeks from conception who was about to be subjected to a procedure known as "partial-birth abortion." Ms. Shafer was testifying in 1995 before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Of course, the partial-birth abortion killed the little boy. Because this column is intended for general readers, I will not describe in detail how a partial- birth abortion is performed beyond saying that it involves partially pulling tiny babies out of their mothers' wombs and killing the infants.

I am totally opposed to this barbaric procedure. That is why last week - for the fifth time since I have been in Congress - I voted for a bill that prohibits partial-birth abortions in the United States - The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2000. The bill to prohibit partial-birth abortions passed the House in an overwhelming 287-181 vote.

Unfortunately, the Clinton-Gore Administration - in the thrall of militant, radical leftists who essentially favor abortion on demand - has twice vetoed our earlier efforts to stop this heinous "medical" practice.

Hopefully, this year we can find the votes to override President Bill Clinton's expected veto of the bill. If we cannot, we can only hope that the president who takes office next January WILL sign a bill to ban partial-birth abortions.

Even though I am opposed abortion in general, I should point out that this bill would prohibit only partial-birth abortions and not other forms of abortion, which would remain legal, based on the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling. And this bill doesn't focus on abortions that are performed in the first three months.

In fact, partial-birth abortions are performed in the later stages of pregnancy and mostly involve babies who are fully capable of living outside the womb. So doing a partial-birth abortion is unquestionably the KILLING of an innocent human being.

The radical abortion-on-demand forces have circulated much false propaganda to prevent us from halting this ghastly practice. Here are just a few of the myths followed by the facts.

Abortion-on-demand myth: The National Abortion Federation has claimed that the procedure is rarely used and that only about 500 are done in the entire country annually.

The truth: In New Jersey, the newspaper, The Record, found that 1,500 partial-birth abortions were performed in one year in JUST ONE clinic in Englewood, N.J. Ron Fitzimmons of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers admitted he had lied on ABC's "Nightline," when he used the 500 number. He admitted that a more accurate estimate is 3,000 to 5,000 partial-birth abortions a year.

Abortion-on-demand myth: Partial birth abortions are performed when it is necessary to save the life of the mother or if there are serious fetal deformities.

The Truth: The American Medical Association says partial birth abortions are "not good medicine" and are "not medically indicated" in ANY situation. One abortionist doctor told AM News that 80 percent of the abortions he performs "are purely elective."

Abortion-on demand myth: The baby feels no pain when the procedure is performed because the mother has been given anesthetics and the baby may be dead already when the partial-birth abortion is done. This idea has been advanced by Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL).

The Truth: In 1995 testimony before the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, professor Robert White said fetuses at 20 weeks and beyond are "fully capable of experiencing pain." Dr. White, director of the Division of Neurosurgery and Brain Research at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, also said: "Without question, all of this is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant subjected to such a surgical procedure."

The tiny babies who die in this awful procedure cannot cry out in their own defense. But in the name of humanity we must listen to those silent pleas of agony and abuse. That's why I will do everything in my power to make sure that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2000 ultimately becomes law.