Partial Birth

The usually mundane race for who will lead Republicans in the House of Delegates has taken a nasty turn because of a battle over one candidate's support for abortion rights. In dispute is whether Del. Adelaide C. Eckardt's position on abortion makes her unfit to serve as the House minority whip, the second-ranking position in the GOP leadership. "I don't remember another race for leader as emotional as this race is," said Del. A. Wade Kach, a 29-year veteran of the House who is running on a ticket with Eckardt.

CHICAGO - It's been two months since Senate Democrats began a filibuster to block the federal appeals court nomination of Miguel A. Estrada, and they are willing to persist until Dick Cheney grows a full head of hair. Judge Estrada has not been caught smoking pot, molesting interns, cheating on his bar exam, or anything else improper. All he has done is arouse suspicions that once on the bench, he will behave like a conservative. Behind this fear is a bigger fear: that Judge Estrada, if confirmed, will be appointed to the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON - Opening a new phase yesterday in the volatile judicial debate over abortion rights, the Senate passed legislation banning a procedure its opponents call "partial-birth" abortion, paving the way for its enactment this spring. The action was a triumph for the Republican Congress and for President Bush, who cheered the vote, calling the abortion method "an abhorrent procedure that offends human dignity." The Senate's vote "is an important step toward building a culture of life in America," Bush said.

WASHINGTON - Abortion opponents are poised to achieve a major victory today, with the Senate set to pass a measure, backed by President Bush, that would ban a procedure its critics call "partial-birth" abortion. The passage of the bill, which is likely to clear the House and become law within weeks, would culminate nearly a decade of Republican efforts to ban the procedure. The bill would impose the first substantial federal curbs on abortion rights since the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling established a constitutional right to abortion.

WASHINGTON -Delving once again into the volatile arena of abortion politics, the Senate began debate yesterday on a bill to ban a specific controversial abortion procedure, with the measure widely expected to reach the president's desk. The bill, similar to one twice vetoed by President Bill Clinton, has been a top goal of anti-abortion forces since 1995. This time, congressional passage would be a significant victory for those groups because President Bush has made it clear that he would sign the bill.

BOSTON - There was a moment last month when the Bush administration overturned Roe vs. Wade. You may not have noticed because it happened in Bangkok - out of sight, out of media mind. Our government went there to try to deep-six a U.N. agreement on family planning. After one of our delegates promoted abstinence-only education, after another warned of the risks of condoms, after a third shared her personal success story using the rhythm method, Assistant Secretary of State Gene Dewey took the podium.

WASHINGTON - Galvanized by the Republican takeover of the Senate, opponents of abortion are preparing a major push for new abortion restrictions in the next Congress, beginning with a ban on the type of medical procedure they call "partial-birth abortion." Abortion opponents say they will also push for several other measures already passed by the Republican-controlled House, including a bill making it a crime to evade parental notification laws by taking a minor across state lines for an abortion, and legislation making it a separate crime to harm a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman.

DURING the campaign, Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. was asked about his membership on the advisory board of Republicans for Choice, a national abortion-rights group headquartered in suburban Washington. His response was a hearty laugh. Yes, he explained, he was a member but he couldn't recall attending any meetings. In fact, Ehrlich continued, he wasn't comfortable being tagged pro-choice. "That's a label the press has attached," the fourth-term congressman from Baltimore County said.

Howard County state Sen. Sandra B. Schrader helped kill a bill regulating abortion yesterday, ending a month of partisan bickering over the measure, which she co-sponsored. The bill, which would have imposed an 18-hour waiting period on women seeking abortions, died on a 6-5 committee vote. Schrader, one of three Republicans on the committee, voted to kill the bill, committee staffers said. Democrats had accused Schrader, who was appointed recently to the seat after former Sen. Martin G. Madden's resignation in January, of either being careless or trying to waffle on her pro-abortion-rights stance by allowing herself to be a co-sponsor.

BOSTON -- Within hours of the announcement, the small line popped up on one of the talk shows that dance across the cable channels: "All Over But the Shouting." Is that it? Does the FDA approval of RU-486 signal a full victory, a smack down in the wrestling match over abortion? RU-486 had been stalled for so long that I had come to think of it as the flight number of a plane held hostage. And of course it had been held hostage ... to politics. For a dozen years, the political turbulence had kept this drug grounded.