US Court decision may limit abortions further

The Supreme Court's decision Wednesday to let Congress ban a specific abortion method, even if many doctors consider it the safest way to end a pregnancy, appears to signal a new willingness to limit women's access to a medical procedure that has polarized political debate for more than three decades.

The court's 5-4 decision Wednesday let stand a federal ban on removing a fetus intact from a woman's uterus and then destroying it. The ruling, made possible by the votes of two appointees of President Bush and bitterly criticized by the dissenting justices, indicated that scores of anti-abortion measures now before state legislatures may well get a friendly hearing if they come before the court. Read more