4-18-2007

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor

'Decision represents an awakening of the conscience of a nation.'

Pro-life advocates around America are celebrating the “first true judicial victory for the unborn since Roe v. Wade.”

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act -- which Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 -- does not violate a woman’s right to an abortion, as several federal courts had ruled.

The ban takes effect immediately.

“Today, the Supreme Court takes the scalpel out of the hands of abortionists who would brutally and fatally puncture the skulls of babies who are just inches and moments away from birth,” said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for Focus on the Family Action.

Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said: “We thank God that the Supreme Court has affirmed the value of human life by banning the Nazi-esque barbarism that is partial-birth abortion.

“A majority of justices have recognized what most Americans have long known: there is no constitutional right to slay a healthy, nearly born baby by stabbing it in the back of the head and vacuuming out its brains — all without even anesthetizing the child.”

Along with Bush appointees Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, other justices voting to uphold the ban were Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.

“The Supreme Court's decision is an affirmation of the progress we have made over the past six years in protecting human dignity and upholding the sanctity of life,” Bush said in a statement. “We will continue to work for the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law.”

Democrats had plenty to say as well.

“A lot of us wish that Alito weren't there and (former Justice Sandra Day) O'Connor were there,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said at a press conference. O’Connor was a crucial swing vote for many of her final years on the bench.

“Reid seems to be more incoherent than ever," said Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "Reid voted in favor of the 2003 federal ban, so he should be thrilled at today's decision."

“If Reid is actually pining for O'Connor, then I would ask him the trial lawyer's famous cross-examination question: ‘Were you lying then or are you lying now?’ ”

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., called the ruling “the first true judicial victory for the unborn since Roe v. Wade.”

“Thanks to this landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court, we can say life is winning in America,” he said in a statement. “The Supreme Court's decision represents an awakening of the conscience of a nation.”

(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)