Senate Approves Bill to Prohibit Type of Abortion

[I]n the Senate, advocates of the right to abortion, led by Ms. Boxer, insisted on one more day of debate before final passage. They characterized the bill as an assault on the right to privacy established by the Roe case, and an intrusion into the ability of doctors and patients to make their own medical choices. [Just like the Florida case. See the pattern emerging? — mjh]

”This bill puts doctors in the untenable position of choosing the best and most appropriate care for their patients or risk going to jail,” said Vicki Saporta, the abortion federation’s president. …

But proponents of the ban say the legal climate may change, particularly if Mr. Bush wins re-election. They are hopeful that, by the time the case reaches the Supreme Court, Mr. Bush will have had an opportunity to appoint new justices, and the slim 5-to-4 majority that rejected the Nebraska law will no longer hold together.

”It would only require the change in one mind, or the change in one justice, so that those on the other side who make confident predictions aren’t as confident,” said Douglas Johnson, a spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee, which has spent years fighting for the ban.

Of the Nebraska case, Mr. Johnson said, ”Congress is now inviting the Supreme Court to re-examine that extreme and inhumane decision.” [That is, Roe v. Wade and the right to an abortion under any circumstances. — mjh]