The trial of a man who confessed to killing a Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions began Friday, with the prosecution telling jurors they will hear from witnesses to the shooting.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents hit the streets of the nation's capital Friday to mark the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
The Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion in the sweeping health care bill it is debating.
The problematic intersection of health care and abortion politics will be highlighted again Monday as religious abortion rights supporters demand changes to reform legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives.
Nicaragua's total ban on abortion is a "cruel, inhuman disgrace" that's led to the rise in maternal deaths, human rights organization Amnesty International has said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday delayed its confirmation vote for Judge Sonia Sotomayor by one week, acceding to GOP demands for more time to examine the U.S. Supreme Court nominee's record.
President Obama delved into the abortion debate in a controversial Notre Dame commencement address Sunday, calling for a search for common ground on one of the most divisive issues in American politics.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' experience working with both Democrats and Republicans in her home state could be an asset to President Obama as he embarks on an effort at bipartisanship in reforming health care.
The congressional showdown over Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination to President Obama's Cabinet may focus less on her qualifications than on the issue of abortion, analysts said.
President Obama affirmed his support for a woman's "right to choose" on Thursday, the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that led to the legalization of abortion, as thousands of anti-abortion activists descended on the National Mall to challenge his position.
The trial of a man who confessed to killing a Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions began Friday, with the prosecution telling jurors they will hear from witnesses to the shooting.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents hit the streets of the nation's capital Friday to mark the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
The Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion in the sweeping health care bill it is debating.
The problematic intersection of health care and abortion politics will be highlighted again Monday as religious abortion rights supporters demand changes to reform legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives.
Nicaragua's total ban on abortion is a "cruel, inhuman disgrace" that's led to the rise in maternal deaths, human rights organization Amnesty International has said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday delayed its confirmation vote for Judge Sonia Sotomayor by one week, acceding to GOP demands for more time to examine the U.S. Supreme Court nominee's record.
President Obama delved into the abortion debate in a controversial Notre Dame commencement address Sunday, calling for a search for common ground on one of the most divisive issues in American politics.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' experience working with both Democrats and Republicans in her home state could be an asset to President Obama as he embarks on an effort at bipartisanship in reforming health care.
The congressional showdown over Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination to President Obama's Cabinet may focus less on her qualifications than on the issue of abortion, analysts said.
President Obama affirmed his support for a woman's "right to choose" on Thursday, the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that led to the legalization of abortion, as thousands of anti-abortion activists descended on the National Mall to challenge his position.
President-elect Barack Obama is considering issuing an executive order to reverse a controversial Bush administration abortion policy in his first week in office, three Democratic sources said Monday.
Voters on Nov. 4 will decide another sweeping but less restrictive ballot measure that would probably send a legal challenge of Roe v. Wade to the U.S. Supreme Court
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin charged into the culture wars Saturday in Pennsylvania, painting Sen. Barack Obama as a radical on abortion rights.
A weighty legal tome intended for libraries provides the best roadmap to the state-by-state battles that could ensue if the landmark abortion ruling is overturned
The attempts by Obama's running mate to justify his pro-choice abortion views have prompted criticism from the Catholic bishops. Will this be John Kerry redux?
Sen. John McCain's campaign has told Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty he will not be the GOP vice presidential nominee in November, sources told CNN on Friday.
Mexico's Supreme Court upheld the capital's abortion law Thursday, setting a precedent for the rest of the country that could inspire other Latin American cities
Mexico's highest court voted 8-3 Thursday to uphold women's right to abortion in the capital.
Sen. John McCain has decided on his running mate and will inform the person Thursday night, sources close to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said.
Conservatives and Democrats rarely agree, but the decision to have Sen. Joe Lieberman speak at the Republican National Convention has put both groups on edge.
Speculation that Sen. John McCain is considering as a running mate two men who support abortion rights has sparked a backlash among social conservatives, including radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.
When the candidates get together to talk religion with pastor Rick Warren, they'll both be trying to answer skepticism from key blocs of religious voters
Activists contend that most women have only a fuzzy sense of his views on abortion. And that's just the way the GOP wants it
Thirty-five years since Roe v. Wade, and little, it seems, has changed.
Fred Thompson aired the first negative television ad in the 2008 Republican presidential campaign race, using the CNN/YouTube debate Wednesday to deliver a double broadside against Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
It was 1993 and Kelli Conlin remembers her excitement as a member of Mayor-elect Rudy Giuliani's transition team.
Colorado could become the first state to vote on whether embryos should be considered people. Nationwide, however, the anti-abortion movement appears to be fracturing
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani Friday assured conservatives he will nominate Supreme Court justices they would find acceptable.
The National Right to Life Committee, a key anti-abortion group, endorsed Fred Thompson for president Tuesday, saying the former senator was the best candidate to beat Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani.
When it came to abortion rights, even at the start of the 1990s, the Rehnquist Court was in fact the O'Connor Court.
Though leftist parties hold power in countries like Bolivia, pro-choice activists are finding themselves on the defensive
It was no holds barred Sunday as the Republican presidential hopefuls took part in the first Iowa debate of the 2008 elections.
Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign issued a stinging attack on GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney's stance on abortion Wednesday.
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani will fully outline his position on abortion rights before next week's GOP debate in South Carolina, Giuliani advisers told CNN on Thursday.
Ann Romney, the wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, wrote a $150 check to Planned Parenthood in 1994, a Romney spokesman told CNN Wednesday.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his former wife donated money to Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider, old tax records show.
How you frame an issue means everything in a political debate. Take Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling on abortion.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a law that banned a type of late-term abortion, a ruling that could portend enormous social, legal and political implications for the divisive issue.
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that voters should focus on his record rather than on a "rocky" personal life that includes three marriages and an estrangement from his only son.
Setting aside any doubt, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona announced Wednesday he would seek the presidential nomination.
Who's got the heat for 2008? One Democrat and one Republican. And in one case, it's coming from a surprising place.
Former New York mayor and 2008 presidential contender Rudolph Giuliani said Wednesday he is not sure the tide will turn in the war in Iraq, as President Bush has said.
On Tuesday, Mitt Romney becomes the first of the three leading Republicans to declare he's officially running for president.
The graphic details of a disputed abortion procedure filled the Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices voiced concern with a federal ban on that operation.
Some key dates surrounding moral issues:
The Supreme Court has accepted a second case testing the constitutionality of a federal law banning a specific, controversial late-term abortion procedure critics call "partial birth" abortion.
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed a bill Monday that bans nearly all abortions in the state, legislation in direct conflict with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973.
The Supreme Court wasted little time jumping back into the contentious abortion issue, agreeing Tuesday to review the constitutionality of a federal law banning a controversial late-term procedure critics call "partial birth" abortion.
A majority of Americans said the Senate should confirm federal appellate judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, with just 30 percent opposing his confirmation, according to a poll released Monday.
Emotions ran high Wednesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee continued to question Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, and the top Democrat cited concern over what he called "inconsistencies" in the judge's testimony.
Senators on the Judiciary Committee began questioning Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on Tuesday. Click on a topic for excerpts of his answers on key issues.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito walked a careful line on abortion rights and other topics on Tuesday, drawing expressions of frustration from some Democrats and praise from Republicans.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito had a private meeting with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday as he sought to reassure lawmakers that he would respect legal precedent on abortion rights and put his personal views aside.
The U.S. Supreme Court takes on two high-profile abortion cases this week, refocusing attention on one of the court's biggest judicial and social conflicts.
Roughly two-thirds of the people questioned in a recent poll on abortion supported parental and spousal notification but opposed a constitutional amendment to ban the practice altogether.
A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito had distanced himself from a memo he wrote 20 years ago that said "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
The abortion lobby faces an uphill battle to prevent a pro-life justice from replacing a pro-choice justice on the Supreme Court. That explains why abortion rights activist Kate Michelman cited her personal history to try to generate emotion against the nomination of federal appellate Judge Samuel Alito. The problem is that the example she cited is inappropriate and inapplicable.
President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito, a former U.S. attorney who has been a judge for 15 years, is considered a favorite of conservatives.
President Bush is expected Monday to name his nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, senior administration officials told CNN Sunday.
As the White House renewed its attempts to rally backing for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, her views -- or non-views -- on a key privacy case appeared to ignite more controversy.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Monday that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers told him in a private meeting that she believed the 1965 case of Griswold vs. Connecticut -- a landmark ruling establishing the right to privacy -- was "rightly decided."
Chief justice nominee John Roberts faced friendly questioning early Wednesday but was expected to endure more intense probing as Senate confirmation hearings continued for a third day.
Supreme Court nominee John Roberts supported the idea of allowing prayer in public schools, writing as a White House lawyer in 1985 that such efforts were "within the constitutional power of Congress."
NARAL Pro-Choice America said late Thursday it was pulling a controversial advertisement in which the abortion rights group accused Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of "supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted bomber."
Supreme Court nominee John Roberts spent a second day Thursday visiting senators on Capitol Hill, where the contentiousness many expected to see over the first high court confirmation in 11 years was nowhere in sight.
President Bush on Tuesday selected U.S. Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr. as his nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled invalid a federal ban on a type of late-term abortion. But this development -- significant as it is -- may be nothing compared with what will occur soon.
Nearly 8 out of 10 respondents to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they liked the idea that a woman replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court sets up the mother of all political battles. Not to mention the political Play of the Week.
Abortion rights groups jumped into action Friday immediately after Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation, saying her loss from the Supreme Court's bench puts women's reproductive rights in jeopardy and urging President Bush to choose a moderate justice.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's decision to retire unleashed a bipartisan wave of praise Friday on Capitol Hill that quickly gave way to jostling over her potential successor and the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The campaign for Democratic chairman turned contentious over the weekend when Tim Roemer lashed out at criticism of his views on abortion and accused opponents of negative campaigning.
Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, an abortion-rights supporter in line to head the Senate Judiciary Committee, reiterated Monday that he would not hold up President Bush's judicial nominees, even if they oppose abortion rights.
The head of a leading conservative group said Sunday that Sen. Arlen Specter "is a big-time problem" and that his quest to serve as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee "must be derailed."
William Rehnquist, chief justice of the United States, is expected to be released this week after undergoing throat surgery for thyroid cancer Saturday at Bethesda Naval Hospital outside Washington.
John Kerry's promise in the last presidential debate that he would impose an abortion litmus test on Supreme Court selections deepened anxiety of pro-life Catholics.
The political stakes have made the issue of possible U.S. Supreme Court retirements part of the election-year rhetoric, thanks to aggressive outreach by a number of special-interest groups.
A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court dismissed a motion Tuesday from the original plaintiff in Roe v. Wade to have the landmark 1973 abortion case overturned, a court clerk said.
A U.S. judge Thursday became the second in the nation to rule that a federal ban on a particular type of late-term abortion is unconstitutional.
In a highly anticipated ruling, a federal judge found the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional Thursday because it does not include a health exception.
During the 2000 presidential election, Democratic nominee Al Gore told voters that the choice between his candidacy and that of Republican George W. Bush would likely determine who named the next three justices of the Supreme Court.
President Bush was out of line to ask the Vatican to get U.S. bishops more involved in promoting his conservative social agenda, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Tuesday.
President Bush has urged the Vatican to ask U.S. bishops to become more involved in promoting his conservative social agenda, a Vatican official told CNN on Monday.
To his mostly conservative admirers, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, is admired for being candid in speech and rock solid on social issues. To his critics, mostly non-conservatives, Santorum is judged abrasive and too quick to demonize political adversaries.
Forty-eight congressional Roman Catholic Democrats have signed a letter to protest the idea that politicians who support abortion rights should be denied communion.
Standing before thousands of women, Sen. John Kerry warned Friday that "the rights of women are under assault in this country" and promised that as president he will reverse the course set by the Bush administration -- including abortion policy.
Just hours before Sen. John Kerry was scheduled to discuss his support for legalized abortion at a large women's rights rally Friday in Washington, a top Vatican cardinal called on priests to deny communion to Catholic politicians like Kerry who take that stance.
The incremental approach seems to be working for foes of abortion.
As lawyers and court watchers have long suspected, the Supreme Court was ready to effectively overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion in 1992, but Justice Anthony M. Kennedy got cold feet, and the vote went the other way.
President Bush Friday gave a recess appointment to Bill Pryor, naming him to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals months after Senate Democrats had filibustered to block his nomination, Pryor told CNN.
Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court opinion whose 31st anniversary falls on January 22, was not yet a decade old when I became pregnant. I was 17, living on my own, and the pregnancy was unwanted.
With the country now poised for hearings on a Supreme Court nominee, and for boundless recrimination over the law of abortion, we propose to indulge in a little fantasy previously not allowed out o...
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