Free Republic

Is it significant that the five Supreme Court justices who voted to uphold the federal ban on a controversial abortion procedure also happen to be the court's Roman Catholics? It is to Tony Auth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He drew Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. wearing bishop's miters, and labeled his cartoon "Church and State." Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Walters hashed out the issue on "The View," with O'Donnell noting that a majority of the court is Catholic and wondering about...

When Republican strategist Michelle Laxalt tried to describe the clinical reality of partial-birth abortion on MSNBC this morning at about 10:55 AM EDT, MSNBC host Chris Jansing [file photo] cut her off, saying she didn't want to get into an "emotional debate." By all means. Let's not confuse people with the facts. Better to focus on the antiseptic "right to choose" without letting the gruesome reality of the matter intrude. In partial birth birth abortion, the near-term baby's skull is collapsed and its brains are sucked out. Immediately after stopping Laxalt just as she was about to state that,...

There is a political lesson behind today's Supreme Ct decision on partial birth abortion that some of you who now oppose Rudy Giuliani need to think about. Back in 2004, Pat Toomey challenged Arlen Specter in PA for the nomination to the U.S. Senate. Both Rick Santorum and George Bush backed Santorum. They did so for three reasons. First, they believed Toomey had little chance to win in the general election whereas it was virtually certain Specter would win if nominated. Second, the Senate was too evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans to risk losing even one seat--which would mean...

Summary of Partial-Birth Ruling: Ginsburg’s Dissent [Ed Whelan] The press of business compels a very quick summary of Justice Ginsburg’s dissent (which is full of fiery rhetoric): The Court’s decision refuses to take Casey and Stenberg seriously. A health exception is necessary. The Court blurs the line between pre-viability and post-viability. Its holding regarding facial challenges is inconsistent with precedent. The only redemptive feature of the opinion is that as-applied challenges may proceed.

Key Facts on Partial-Birth Abortion (excerpts) In a partial-birth abortion, the abortionist pulls a living baby feet-first out of the womb and into the birth canal (vagina), except for the head, which the abortionist purposely keeps lodged just inside the cervix (the opening to the womb). The abortionist punctures the base of the baby’s skull with a surgical instrument, such as a long surgical scissors or a pointed hollow metal tube called a trochar. He then inserts a catheter (tube) into the wound, and removes the baby's brain with a powerful suction machine. This causes the skull to collapse, after...

Can lawyers debate the butchering of innocent children while keeping a straight face, and a settled stomach? The answer, apparently, is "almost." At least that's what I saw from my center seat at the Supreme Court arguments Wednesday on partial birth abortion. I came away with three observations.

To give taxpayer money to any abortion provider is inappropriate, yet the government is providing millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood every year. Particularly for the many Americans who object to abortion on moral grounds, this use of taxpayer dollars is reprehensible. We strongly support Sen. David Vitter's "Title X Family Planning Act" (S.2206), which would eliminate federal Planned Parenthood funding. Please give your full support to this legislation. Please sign the petition. https://www.aclj.org/Petition/Default.aspx?&ac=1&Zip=*Zip&sc=3209 video...https://www.aclj.org/Planned check out their web page for more information http://www.aclj.org/

In 2003 President Bush signed the bill he promised he would sign, banning the murderous practice of partial birth abortion. Before the ink was dry on his signature, Murder Inc. proceeded with legal maneuvers that has kept the practice alive (ironic pun intended). On November 8 the US Supreme Court hears the case to rule on the constituionality of this bill in Gonzales vs Carhart. Also read about the saline abortion survivor Gianna Jessen amongst other amazing stories of survival. She recently "Ran the Race" by limping through the 26.2 mile British marathon in order to share her testimony. Call...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's new term has cases on abortion, the environment and racial diversity in schools, some of the country's most contentious social issues for a court primed to shift sharply to the right by President George W. Bush's conservative appointees. The nation's highest court, with Bush's two appointees, could decide to limit or overturn recent precedents upholding abortion rights for women and programs to foster a racially diverse student body, legal experts said. "The term is going to be a bellwether on the shift in the court's ideology. The court is revisiting a series of...

The state has ordered two Orlando clinics to stop doing abortions indefinitely and suspended the medical license of their owner, Dr. James Pendergraft, on grounds that he illegally performed third-trimester abortions. The restrictions began last week at one Orlando location, and by Wednesday, all five of Pendergraft's offices statewide had been ordered to stop providing abortions.

Aug 15, 2006 By Staff Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP)--The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Nov. 8 on the constitutionality of a federal ban on the grisly procedure known as partial-birth abortion. The high court announced Aug. 14 it would hear arguments in two cases involving the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act the day after the general election. The justices will consider in back-to-back proceedings Gonzales v. Carhart, an appeal from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, out of the Ninth Circuit. The Supreme Court, which will open its next term Oct. 2, is expected to...

A free online video demonstration of a partial-birth abortion is now available online, thanks to gynecologist Dr. William Lile and R.A.G.E. Media. The footage, taken from Dr. Lile’s DVD presentation “The Miracle of Life,” shows Dr. Lile using the actual abortionists’ tools to demonstrate how the procedure is performed, using only a sheet, a chair, and a baby doll – no blood or disturbing images. However, it is apparent that the procedure is not a lifesaving measure, as the entire child must be delivered via an intrusive process that can take days. “This is a whole new generation from what...

On Friday night, Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum (R.) and his wife, Karen Garver Santorum, received an award from the Sisters of Life, the order of religious sisters founded by the late John Cardinal O'Connor in 1991. The Sisters were established, according to the late cardinal archbishop of New York, to "restore to all society a sense of the sacredness of human life." The John Cardinal O'Connor Award was given to the Santorums in recognition of "the courage, nobility, and love with which they live their vocation to marriage and family life," Mother Agnes Mary, the superior general (a former professor...

This is what they are protecting! Read More... Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

SAN FRANCISCO - An appeals court ruled Tuesday that the federal law banning 'partial-birth' abortion is unconstitutional, saying the measure is vague and lacks an exception for cases in which a woman’s health is at stake.

Of course, what I see as common sense will probably infuriate some who disagree. I have already disappointed and angered some of my conservative friends because, although I will work tirelessly to reverse Roe vs. Wade, I favor no restrictions on first-trimester abortion. Some see this as a contradictory position, but perhaps they do not realize what the Roe vs. Wade decision opened up in this country, nor do they really understand what was in store for many women before abortion became legal.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Bush administration lawyer urged a federal appeals court today to reinstate the first federal ban on a specific type of abortion, saying judges should bow to congressional findings that the procedure is unnecessary, immoral and dangerous. "Congress is due respect as a coequal branch of government'' and is "better situated (than the courts) to amass and weigh evidence,'' Justice Department lawyer Gregory Katsas told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The law, known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, has been declared unconstitutional by every federal court that has reviewed...

As recently as October 1, 2005 the plea for the Supreme Court to reinstate the Partial Birth Abortion Act is still being made. The ban on partial abortions would prevent the fetus (usually in its second or third trimester) from being delivered and then executed. The ban was officially signed into law by President Bush in 2003. Recent upheaval about the reinstitution of the ban has resulted from many loopholes in the abortion process. According to Susan B. Anthony List.com, one example of an abortion violation occurred in the state of Minnesota during 2002. The following case was performed only...

Have you been watching this? Coverage is on right now CSPAN2. NAF's litigator Ms. Wolstein is fumbling, dodging, and throwing endless smoke and mirrors to judges who are questioning the NAF's opposition to the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. It is absolutely amazing how much evasion and two-stepping this young woman is doing. She's been pinned down at least three times, reduced to "uh, um ,well, er..." and is stooping to Clinton ian evasion such as questioning the meaning of the word "intact" in intact D&E. Giving the example of "well, what if a toe falls off accidentally during delivery?"....

RICHMOND, Va. - A federal appeals court Friday denied a request by Virginia's attorney general to rehear a case challenging a state law banning a type of late-term abortion. In June, a divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Virginia's law banning what anti-abortion activists call "partial-birth abortion" is unconstitutional because the law lacks an exception to protect a woman's health. The Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the law when it was passed by the General Assembly in 2003, and a federal judge blocked its enforcement. Following the appellate panel's ruling, Attorney General Judith...