LAW: Supreme Abortion Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law banning so-called partial-birth abortion in a 5-to-4 decision, which is a big win for abortion opponents: the law need not allow the procedure even when necessary to protect a woman's health. But the decision could have been worse for supporters of abortion rights. The court said a woman could still challenge the law by showing that she would get sick without the procedure. And while Justice Clarence Thomas, with Antonin Scalia, wrote separately that the right to abortion shouldn't exist, the court's two new Bush-appointed members--John Roberts and Samuel Alito--didn't join them. That may bode well for the future of Roe v. Wade.