Senate passes partial-birth abortion ban

Published: 2003-10-22

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Senate passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act by a 64-34 margin Oct. 21. President Bush has said he would sign the legislation, which three weeks earlier was passed by the House on a 281-142 vote. Bush applauded the Senate action, saying the ban "will end an abhorrent practice and continue to build a culture of life in America." Gail Quinn, executive director of the U.S. Catholic bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, predicted abortion advocates would challenge the law in court but said most Americans oppose killing partially born children. "The American people -- from every background, of every age, every faith and representing every segment of the political spectrum -- reject the killing of children who are in the process of being born," she said in a statement released immediately after the vote.

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