This is an update from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in Washington, D.C., issued Thursday, October 2, 2003, at 1 pm.

WASHINGTON (Oct. 2, 2003) -- By an overwhelming vote of 281-142, the U.S. House of Representatives today gave final approval to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S. 3).

[VSHL Note: Virginia Representatives voted 8-3 in favor of the ban. Only Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-3), Jim Moran (D-8) and Rick Boucher (D-9) opposed the ban. All other Virginia Representatives voted in favor.]

Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), commented, "This bill puts a spotlight on the brutal violence that premature infants suffer every day because of Roe v. Wade, as interpreted by five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court."

In the case of Stenberg v. Carhart in 2000, by a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortions, holding that under Roe v. Wade an abortionist must be permitted to use the method when he sees fit.

The current justices support the underlying Roe v. Wade ruling itself by 6 to 3.

Based on numerous past roll calls, the bill is likely to be supported by about 64 or 65 of the 100 U.S. senators, and President Bush is eager to sign the ban into law. Nevertheless, Democratic senators who oppose the bill, including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.), reportedly are insisting on extensive further debate before allowing a final vote in the Senate. This continued obstructionism will probably delay final Senate approval of the bill until after a Senate recess that runs Oct. 3-13.

"President Clinton and a minority of senators, mostly Democrats, blocked enactment of the partial-birth abortion ban for eight years, and now it appears that Democratic senators will obstruct the bill for additional weeks," said NRLC's Johnson.

For a more detailed report on recent developments on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, with links to documentation and other resources, see: www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBAtoadvancetisweekgannett.htm.

Drawings of a typical partial-birth abortion at 24 weeks that were displayed on the House floor today, with documentation from medical authorities, is posted here: www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBA_Images/PBA_Images_Heathers_Place.htm.

Medical drawings of a "dilation and evacuation" (D&E) abortion, a different method not covered by the bill, appear here: www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/DEabortiongraphic.html.

The full NRLC archive of documentation on partial-birth abortion (including interviews with abortionists who routinely employ the partial-birth method) is here: www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/index.html.

The National Right to Life Committee is the nation's major pro-life organization, representing affiliates in all 50 states.

VSHL is the Virginia affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee.