SUNDAY
January 28, 2001
volume 12, no. 28

    WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 26, 01 (CWNews.com) - Now that there is a president in office who will sign a law banning partial-birth abortions, congressional leaders have said they are beginning to craft new legislation to put on the president's desk.

    Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, said composing the legislation will be a challenge because of a US Supreme Court decision last year that overturned several state laws banning the procedure. Former President Bill Clinton twice, in 1996 and 1997, vetoed bills passed by Congress that would have banned the procedure. However, President George W. Bush said several times during his election campaign that he would have signed those bills.

    Santorum said moving a partial-birth abortion ban bill this year would occur only after discussions with GOP leadership, the administration, and others on language to overcome "court-created constitutional obstacles." He said the Supreme Court's Stenberg v. Carhart decision last year overreached any previous court decision on abortion. "It was an incredible reach," Santorum said. "It went far beyond any understanding of Roe v. Wade," the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.

    Changes in the makeup of the US House of Representatives have also changed the landscape of the pro-life movement. Former Rep. Charles Canady, R-Florida-- he was the chairman of the House Constitution subcommittee and chief sponsor of the partial-birth abortion ban-- has now retired and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, has left his chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee. He has been replaced at that post by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, who is also pro-life.

January 28, 2001 volume 12, no. 28 Pro Life News www.DailyCatholic.org