Abortion Foes

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave judges across the nation clear but limited authority yesterday to keep abortion clinics open and functioning when they are targeted by anti-abortion blockades.That power, however, may be used only to stop those who have tried to close clinics before or who pose a distinct threat to do so, the court majority made clear in the 6-3 ruling.The mere prospect that protesters might show up outside a clinic is not enough to justify court-ordered protection for clinics by limiting protesters' free-speech rights in advance, the court indicated.

WASHINGTON -- The controversial French-made drug RU-486, used heavily overseas for abortion, may have many uses in treating women's medical problems and might even work as a birth-control pill, a National Academy of Sciences study committee said yesterday.In a broad new review of RU-486's scientific profile, the seven-member NAS committee argued that the drug's potential is so varied that U.S. doctors, scientists, laboratories and research clinics should be doing a multitude of studies on a faster-than-usual timetable.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton, in vetoing the bill that would ban what abortion foes call ''partial-birth'' abortions, insisted that ''this is not about the pro-choice, pro-life debate'' and ''not a bill that should have ever been injected into that.'' He should have been so lucky.Given the degree to which abortion has been politicized before and ever since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing a women's right to have an abortion, it was inevitable that this bill would be seized upon by the anti-abortion forces to dramatize their side of the argument.

WASHINGTON -- The rancorous House debate and vote to preserve the ban on federal funding of abortions has jarred abortion-rights advocates who hoped that election of a president who proposed lifting the ban would lead to its speedy demise this year. Instead, they have been alerted that passage of the Freedom of Choice Act that would codify a woman's right to abortion under the Roe v. Wade decision is not a sure thing.While insisting that they never had the votes to kill the ban on federal funding, embodied in the 16-year-old amendment sponsored by Republican Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, abortion-rights leaders concede that the highly visible defeat will not help their efforts to cement Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

WASHINGTON -- Breaking a long-standing impasse over whether the controversial abortion pill RU-486 ever will be available in the United States, its French manufacturer has agreed to license the drug to a New York-based scientific research organization for eventual distribution here, the Food and Drug Administration has announced.The agreement between the pill-maker, Roussel-Uclaf, and the Population Council will enable the U.S. organization to find a manufacturer in the United States willing to conduct clinical trials of the drug that are likely to lead to FDA marketing approval for the pill.

Abortion opponents appealed to Gov.-elect Parris N. Glendening yesterday to abandon his campaign promise to lift current restrictions on state-funded abortions for poor women.A coalition of anti-abortion groups released the results of a new public opinion poll showing that most Marylanders want the restrictions on abortions financed under the Medicaid program left in place or even tightened.The abortion opponents claimed that the November election produced anti-abortion majorities in both houses of the General Assembly, and they predicted that Mr. Glendening is setting himself up for a political embarrassment if he tries to implement his promise.

ARLINGTON, VA. -- Is now the time for pro-lifers to go for it all, to swing for the fences and try to overturn Roe v. Wade? Or is a gradual approach the better way to restore legal protection for the unborn? Last week, the South Dakota legislature swung for the fences by passing a bill that would again criminalize abortion except to save a woman's life. There are no other exceptions, including rape and incest. Republican Gov. Michael Rounds has indicated his inclination to sign the bill.

WASHINGTON -- In a surprising defeat for anti-abortion forces and their allies in the Republican leadership, the House yesterday rejected a proposal to abolish the federal government's principal family planning program and transfer the money to state block grants.The program, which provides grants to clinics around the country, survived on a 221-207 vote, with 53 Republicans joining 167 Democrats and one independent in the majority. The House then voted, 224-204, to reinstate $193 million in family planning funding.

BOSTON - Have you been listening to all the Democrats talking about real estate? Despite a campaign that hinged on foreign policy and a candidate who couldn't speak straight, many have decided that the culprit is abortion. And they've gone out shopping for "common ground." In his state of the (liberal) union address, pro-choice stalwart Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said, "Surely we can all agree that abortion should be rare and that we should do all we can to help women avoid the need to face that decision."

`ROE VS. WADE is the settled law of the land. ... There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."