Supreme Court Will Hear Major Case Involving Abortion On November 8th

Normally, the election analysis of the aftermath of November 7th should be the major news on November 8th. Instead a major case involving abortion will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court that could major implications on Roe v. Wade.

345 members of Congress and the Senate had voted for a ban on the gruesome practice of partial birth abortion in which often later term babies are nearly delivered except for their head which is left in the birth canal, and while their little arms, legs, fingers and toes are moving, a scizzors is sruck into the back of the neck by a doctor and the babies brains are sucked out by a vacuum machine. This gruesome practive has caused some who support Roe v.Wade to oppose this practice, however a federal had ruled the ban that Congress has voted to unconstitutional. Atttorney General Gonzales is appealing this Federal Court ruling and opposing the Plantiff, Plannned Parenthood in a lawsuit entitled Gonzles v. Planned Parenthood.

With the two new additions of justices Roberts and Alito, it will interesting to see whether the Supreme Court will narrowly rule by 5 to 4 votes to affirm the ban voted by Congress on partial birth abortion or whether this will become the key case that they will use to overturn Roe v. Wade. But this case will likely present the first strong case this year with the opportunity to change the 1973 Supreme Court ruling .

Besides the gruesomeness of the procedure of partisal birth abortion that makes it so controversial, the fact that is mostly done on later term babies, and by only not allowing the head to slip from the birth canal is the only legal factor that keeps this controversial practice as being defined as murder. All of these factors and the more conservative nature of the Supreme Coirt since the two recent Bush appointees should indicate that partial borth abortion at least will be ruled an illegal practice and Roe v. Wade may also be trimmed back more or even overturned.

Whether a person has strong moral objections to partial birth abortion or even abortion in general, or is on the opposite sides of things , supporting both partial birth abortion or Roe v. Wade, the stakes simply could not be much higher for such an important key case this year. The aftemath of the November 7th elections may fade quickly as news of this major case before the court is heard the next day.