House passes partial-birth ban without amendment backing Roe vs. Wade

Published: 2003-10-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After a House-Senate conference committee stripped it of a provision affirming Roe vs. Wade, legislation that would ban partial-birth abortion again passed the House Oct. 2, this time by a 281-142 vote. But approval of the conference committee version was likely to take much longer in the Senate, where the amendment on Roe vs. Wade was originally passed. Although supporters of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act hoped to take it to senators Oct. 3, before a 10-day congressional recess began, many believed the Senate was not likely to take up the legislation until after Oct. 13. "We applaud the House of Representatives for its overwhelming vote to ban the horrible procedure of partial-birth abortion," Gail Quinn, director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, said Oct. 2. "We encourage the Senate to do the same as quickly as possible and get the bill to the president's desk as soon as possible."

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