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GUEST: Cristina Page, author of “How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America” and spokesperson for “Birthcontrol Watch”

This Wednesday the United States Supreme Court narrowly upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Act which is backed by President Bush. Partial-birth abortion is a term used by anti-choice activists. It simply means late-term abortion that takes place late in the second trimester. Federal appeals courts have ruled against the ban three times because the act does not include any exception for women who are at serious health risk because of pregnancy. Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2003, the Partial Birth Abortion Act had been ruled unconstitutional by three appellate courts on the grounds that it failed to protect women’s health. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled against a similar partial birth abortion law due to its lack of exception for a woman’s health. However, in Wednesday’s ruling, the current court, reshaped by two Bush appointees, came to the conclusion that the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act did not violate a woman’s constitutional right to abortion. The 5-4 vote was condemned by Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice groups. Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization of Women, said it displayed that the Supreme Court is “willing to disregard prior precedent, and they are waiting for an opportunity to overturn Roe [vs Wade].”