Wednesday, April 18, 2007

U.S. Supreme Court upholds partial-birth abortion ban

Pro-life leaders praise court's decision

Washington DC, Apr 18, 2007 / 11:18 am (CNA).- In a stunning victory for life, the Supreme Court of the United States today upheld a 2003 law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, which bans the procedure known as partial-birth abortion.

In a 5-4 decision the justices ruled that the 2003 law does not violate a woman’s right to procure an abortion and, as such, is in line with the court’s precedent set by 1973 decision in Row v. Wade.

The opponents of the act "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion.

The court accepted arguments on behalf of the legislation which claimed that the procedure, which involves partially removing the child then crushing or cutting its skull, qualifies as infanticide and not as abortion.

According to the AP the cases constitutes the first time the court banned a specific procedure in a case over how - not whether - to perform an abortion.

The decision found President Bush's two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, siding with the majority. Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also were in the majority.

All five of the majority-voting Justices are Catholic.

See entire story here.

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