Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives put women's lives at risk by passing an unconstitutional abortion ban in a 282 to 139 vote. The ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion" has now passed both chambers of Congress and is expected to move quickly to the President's desk. The Center for Reproductive Rights has vowed to challenge the law as soon as President Bush signs it into law. If enacted, this will be the first federal abortion ban in U.S. history.

"Last night's vote confirms that Congress is willing to turn a blind-eye to women's health and the Constitution," said Nancy Northup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "The Supreme Court has already ruled such laws unconstitutional, so the decision to pass this ban only shows how far some politicians are willing to go to curry favor with anti-choice groups." Added Northup, "This organization has successfully challenged these laws in fourteen states and in the Supreme Court. We are ready to do so again once this federal ban is enacted."

Just three years ago, in Stenberg v. Carhart, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Nebraska's so-called "partial-birth abortion" ban was an unconstitutional threat to women's health and lives. The Justices struck down the ban for two reasons: first, the ban would have prevented women from obtaining the safest methods of abortion used from the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy; second, it lacked an exception in cases where the health of the mother was in jeopardy. The bill passed by the House last night fails to remedy these flaws.

While proponents of this ban claim that only "late-term" abortions would be prohibited, legal and medical experts affirm that the bill would outlaw use of the safest and most common pre-viability abortion procedure used after the first trimester of pregnancy - dilation and evacuation (D&E).