Reactions from presidential candidates (courtesty of Drudge): Hillary Clinton
http://tinyurl.com/37oylk 4/18/2007 From the Senate: Statement on Supreme Court's Gonzales v. Carhart Decision Washington, DC -- "This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose and recognized the importance of women's health. Today's decision blatantly defies the Court's recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito." ------------------------- Rudy Giuliani
http://tinyurl.com/3yrrg2 "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), who in the past has supported a woman’s right to a form of late-term abortion, Wednesday joined in the chorus of Republican presidential candidates hailing the Supreme Court decision upholding the ban of the procedure. “The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion,” Giuliani said in a statement on the 5–4 decision. “I agree with it.” ------------------------------- Barak Obama
http://tinyurl.com/394z82 "I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women." --------------------------- John McCain
http://tinyurl.com/2juete "I'm very happy about the decision given my position on abortion. Partial birth is one of the most odious aspects of abortion," Arizona Sen. John McCain said while campaigning in South Carolina. ----------------------------- Mitt Romney
http://tinyurl.com/2juete "Today, our nation's highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency," Romney said in a statement. "This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us." ------------------------------ John Edwards
http://tinyurl.com/2mh5bj Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement about today's 5-4 Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal abortion ban. "I could not disagree more strongly with today's Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake - starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman's right to choose."