However, in enacting the federal ban, Congress made its own finding that, as a medical fact, there is never a medical necessity for a "partial-birth" abortion. [Scotus Blog]

The bill bans "partial-birth abortion," and it legally defines a partial-birth abortion as any abortion in which the baby is delivered "past the [baby's] navel . . . outside the body of the mother," OR "in the case of head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother," BEFORE being killed.

President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act on November 5, 2003, saying that in partial-birth abortion "a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth."

Several news reports continue to erroneously call the law a ban on "late-term abortions". Although this would be preferable, the law only prohibits a defined method -- and the legal definition of that method has never referred to a point in "term," but rather, to the location of the living baby when he or she is killed. [see the illustrations here.

Yet, it should be noted that at the stage that most partial-birth abortions are performed, the great majority of babies would be "live births" if they were expelled by spontaneous premature labor, and many would be long-term survivors.

In other words, these children can breathe and survive outside the womb before being executed in the most gruesome fashion imaginable. The term "live birth abortion" seems more fitting. Amazingly, while the battle wages over this one type of procedure, killing the same child before he or she is born remains uncontested and the personhood and rights of the unborn child are disregarded by judicial tyrants.

Perhaps this case will turn the tide on the culture of death.

"This will be a monumental term at the Supreme Court concerning the issue of life," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. ACLJ represents a pro-life group in one of the several abortion cases to be heard by the court.

"With the Supreme Court poised to consider the constitutionality of the ban on partial-birth abortion and the high court already hearing cases involving abortion protests, assisted suicide, and parental notification for minors requesting abortions - this is a critical time at the Supreme Court," said Sekulow in a statement.