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The federal ban of Partial Birth Abortion was upheld yesterday, kind of, by the Supreme Court. The Justices voted 5-4 that the ban was Constitutional, which should be cause for Congress to celebrate. But alas, there is a new Congress in town, and the life of a baby isn't as important as the number of possible votes, or partisan pandering.

Ever since Roe v. Wade in 1973, graphic descriptions of abortion have been staples of abortion opponents. Abortion rights advocates have preferred more scientific terms. Neither is by accident. The Supreme Court adopted the more graphic approach Wednesday as a conservative majority of justices upheld a nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure. "The way in which the fetus will be killed ... is of legitimate concern" to the government, the majority said. In opinions after Roe v. Wade, the decision saying a woman has a constitutional right to abortion, clinical terminology has been the order of the day at...

This is why presidential elections matter even if and when you don't particularly like one candidate or the other. The re-election of George W. Bush in 2004 begat the nomination to the United States Supreme Court of Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Justice Alito's ascenion to the High Court last year begat today a landmark abortion ruling that anti-abortion advocates have pushed to get for years. You can spin this any other way you want but in the end it comes down to a simple matter of personnel. Justice Alito was willing and able to go in the law...

April 18, 2007 CBSNews.com Adopts Abortion Terminology Posted by Brian Montopoli (CBS/AP)If not for the Virginia Tech tragedy, the top story on CBSNews.com right now would likely be the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. People on opposite sides of contentious issues like this often use certain terminology to try to frame the debate – see the "death tax" vs. "estate tax" argument. In this case, some, including President Bush, prefer the phrase "partial birth abortion," while others favor "late term abortion." In covering the story, CBSNews.com has decided to go with this...

HILLARY CLINTON ON SCOTUS DECISION: 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...

Rudy- love him or hate him, he's going to be on Larry King live at 9 pm eastern. This is the thread to discuss what he has to say.

WASHINGTON - The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit who — over the objections of his superiors — was the only Roman Catholic priest elected as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday. Drinan, 86, had suffered from pneumonia and congestive heart failure during the previous 10 days, according to a statement by Georgetown University which said he died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. "His death was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his family," said the Rev. John Langan, rector of the Georgetown University Jesuit Community where Drinan lived. An internationally known human-rights advocate, Drinan was elected on an...

In October 1999, pro-life Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and pro-choice Sen. Barbara Boxer of California engaged in a passionate exchange about partial-birth abortion on the Senate floor. Nearly immediately, the debate began making the rounds among pro-lifers, who said it showed the indefensibility of Boxer's pro-choice position. Santorum, who had control of the floor, started the exchange by asking Boxer a series of questions about abortion. She eventually refused to answer any more of his questions. Below is a transcript of the exchange from the Congressional Record: SANTORUM: Do you agree any child who is born has the right...

THIS is not the face of a crusader. Ilene Jaroslaw is a New York City lawyer and the married mother of three - fortunately - healthy children. And a lapsed Republican. But in 2003, Ilene became pregnant with her third baby. Thrilled, she started picking out names. She didn't know it at the time but a reluctant activist was about to be born. It happened after a routine sonogram performed in her 17th week of pregnancy revealed that the child growing in her belly was afflicted with a 100 percent fatal brain abnormality, anencephaly. The baby was doomed. "Half of...

WASHINGTON, November 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Moments after the hearing of oral arguments in the partial-birth abortion case before the United States Supreme Court today, a pro-life lawyer involved in the case is predicting a "major victory". Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said that he is convinced the ban on partial birth abortion will be ruled constitutional. The ACLJ has filed amicus briefs in both cases before the Supreme Court - including one on behalf of some 80 members of Congress - including the sponsors of the federal ban on the gruesome...

If you missed O'Reilly's interview of Amy Richards where she defends killing babies and protecting child rapists, here it is in full: O'Reilly Vs Richard

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life attorney says he thinks next week's hearing on a Congressional partial-birth abortion ban will lead to a vote that will ultimately hinge on Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy voted with the minority in upholding a Nebraska ban in a previous case but the pro-abortion justice's vote is never certain. His vote may also be less certain with the court's previous deciding vote in close cases -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- now retired. The high court is slated to hear oral arguments in cases on Wednesday involving two of the federal challenges abortion advocates filed...

From: email-list@obamaforillinois.com Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 7:41 AM Subject: A Message from Michelle Obama February 17, 2004 Dear Friends: We have all been concerned lately with the rise of conservatism in this country, especially as it relates to women. You’ve read the alarming news about the Justice Department’s request for hospitals to turn over the private medical records of dozens of patients. This cynical ploy is designed to intimidate a group of physicians and force them to drop their lawsuit seeking to have the so-called partial birth abortion ban ruled unconstitutional. The fact remains, with no provision to protect...

For every 100 babies born in New York City, women had 74 abortions in 2004, according to newly released figures that reaffirm the city as the abortion capital of the country. And abortions for out-of-town women performed in the city increased from 57 to 70 out of every 1,000 between 1996 and 2004, a subtle yet noticeable trend that experts say may reflect growing hurdles against the procedure in more conservative parts of the country.The new Vital Statistics report released by the city Department of Health this month shows there were 124,100 live births, 11,700 spontaneous abortions and 91,700 induced...

Orlando, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The Orlando Women's Center abortion facility run by embattled abortion practitioner James Scott Pendergraft isn't supposed to be doing abortions. The state health department suspended abortions there last week after saying he did two illegal late-term abortions in violation of state law. But abortions may still be happening there.Florida officials suspended abortions at Pendergraft's two abortion facilities in Orlando, including the Women's Center and temporarily halted abortions at three other abortion centers in the state.The state suspended Pendergraft's medical license last Wednesday in an emergency order that says he showed a "flagrant disregard for the...

Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- A person who was a member of the Kansas grand jury that investigated the abortion death of a disabled Texas teenager has told a pro-life group about what happened during the investigation. The source revealed the bizarre chain of events that led up to the death of Christin Gilbert.Gilbert was killed in a failed late-term abortion in January 2005 at the abortion facility of George Tiller, one of the few abortion practitioners in the country to still do abortions in the very late stages of pregnancy.After Gilbert's death, a complaint was filed with the Kansas State...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life law firm has filed a brief with the Supreme Court in the case concerning the Congressional-approved ban on partial-birth abortions. The American Center for Law and Justice told the court to reject the argument made by abortion advocates that abortion is safer than childbirth.After President Bush signed the partial-birth abortion ban, pro-abortion groups launched three lawsuits against it and federal appeals courts in Nebraska, New York and California declared the ban unconstitutional.The ACLJ has already filed a brief in the Nebraska case and submitted papers in the California case on Thursday.“Yet again we see...

KITCHENER, ON, July 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com has learned that former US President Bill Clinton is to speak at a fundraiser for the Catholic Family Counselling Centre in Kitchener Ontario.  His scheduled November 8 address will mark the second time Clinton has been employed by a Catholic institution for a fundraiser in the same diocese.Andrew Wilding, the Director of Resource Development for the Catholic Family Counselling Centre told LifeSiteNews.com that while the speaking engagement has been confirmed, they have not yet secured a location for the event.  Wilding also confirmed that the Counselling Centre was founded by the...

LONDON, June 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – England’s Catholic primate, Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, has called upon the British Parliament to re-examine the 1967 act that made abortion legal in nearly all cases. The BBC reports that he is supporting a Commons motion by 31 MPs who are calling for a review of the law and specifically a reduction in the time limit for gestational age for legal abortion. In a meeting with the health minister, Murphy-O’Connor said today, “This is not primarily a religious issue. It is a human issue.” The Cardinal agreed with the 31 MP’s that the gestational age...

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Supreme Court is set to revisit a second Bush Administration appeal that seeks to reinstate a ban on partial birth abortion, reports the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). The ACLJ, which specializes in constitutional law, said it is pleased the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case, which involves the constitutionality of the national ban on partial-birth abortion. “The Supreme Court took a significant step today that clearly puts the issue of partial-birth abortion front-and-center,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which litigates pro-life issues. “By taking...