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Conservatives are up in arms over Mexico City legalizing abortion and same-sex unions. But leftist politicians believe the government's social conservatism could be its downfall
The View co-host clarifies quotes she made in a magazine interview
Contentious issues have cropped up in presidential campaigns throughout America's history. Controversies from the past include slavery, isolationism, suffrage, civil rights, the prohibition of alcohol, and policies toward organized labor. The following issues are among those on the minds of voters in 2008.
Women living in countries where abortion is restricted are using the Internet to buy medication enabling them to perform an abortion at home, but one in 10 need surgery afterwards, according to new research.
With the economy and Iraq topping voter concerns, abortion has receded into the political background. As a TIME poll shows, that has put the Catholic vote up for grabs
A Romanian government committee has decided to allow a pregnant 11-year-old who was raped by her teenage uncle to have an abortion, a government spokesman said Friday.
Romanian authorities plan to decide Friday whether to allow an 11-year-old girl to have an abortion after she was raped by her teenage uncle, the Romanian Ministry of Health said Thursday.
Forget the screaming and scandal. Is it possible the pregnancy pact is a sign of maturity? Nancy Gibbs thinks so
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
Sweet Jesus! What has gotten into the Democratic Party when it comes to issues of faith?
Conservatives are up in arms over Mexico City legalizing abortion and same-sex unions. But leftist politicians believe the government's social conservatism could be its downfall
The View co-host clarifies quotes she made in a magazine interview
Contentious issues have cropped up in presidential campaigns throughout America's history. Controversies from the past include slavery, isolationism, suffrage, civil rights, the prohibition of alcohol, and policies toward organized labor. The following issues are among those on the minds of voters in 2008.
Women living in countries where abortion is restricted are using the Internet to buy medication enabling them to perform an abortion at home, but one in 10 need surgery afterwards, according to new research.
With the economy and Iraq topping voter concerns, abortion has receded into the political background. As a TIME poll shows, that has put the Catholic vote up for grabs
A Romanian government committee has decided to allow a pregnant 11-year-old who was raped by her teenage uncle to have an abortion, a government spokesman said Friday.
Romanian authorities plan to decide Friday whether to allow an 11-year-old girl to have an abortion after she was raped by her teenage uncle, the Romanian Ministry of Health said Thursday.
Forget the screaming and scandal. Is it possible the pregnancy pact is a sign of maturity? Nancy Gibbs thinks so
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
Sweet Jesus! What has gotten into the Democratic Party when it comes to issues of faith?
The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court's ruling that female inmates have a constitutional right to abortions off jail grounds.
A superb Romanian film gives a creepy twist to Hollywood's unwanted-pregnancy comedies
Thousands of abortion opponents marched from the National Mall to the Supreme Court on Tuesday in their annual remembrance of the court's Roe v. Wade decision
Thirty-five years since Roe v. Wade, and little, it seems, has changed.
A federal appeals court has upheld the right of female inmates to be transported at state expense for elective abortions.
Thirty-five years after Roe v. Wade, a debate is still raging -- over which side is responsible for the drop in abortions
A comprehensive study finds that abortion and miscarriage lead to low birth weight and preterm birth. But is 40-year-old data still relevant today?
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.
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney blasted a rising challenger in the Iowa caucuses Monday, painting former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a tax-raising, illegal immigrant-coddling liberal and defending his own commitment to conservative causes.
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.
GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson will get the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee, three GOP sources told CNN.
Call it a battle for the hearts and minds of Christian conservative voters.
When it came to abortion rights, even at the start of the 1990s, the Rehnquist Court was in fact the O'Connor Court.
Activists on both sides are in a heated confrontation in the city of Aurora over a new Planned Parenthood clinic
30 years after China decreed a general limit of one child per family, resentment still brews over the state's sometimes brutal intrusion into intimate family matters
A federal judge temporarily blocked a new Missouri abortion law Monday after Planned Parenthood said the law would harm women by dramatically reducing the clinics available to provide the procedure.
Contradicting earlier findings of a greater risk of ectopic pregnancy, a new report says the controversial abortion pill is as safe for women as surgical abortions
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.
A former law colleague of likely Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson told CNN Monday that Thompson worked in the 1990s for a group trying to loosen abortion restrictions.
Gov. John Lynch signed legislation Friday that made New Hampshire the first state to repeal a law requiring a parent be notified before a minor received an abortion
A doctor who performs abortions was charged Thursday with violating Kansas law on late-term procedures, a surprise move from a Democratic attorney general who recently unseated a prominent anti-abortion Republican
The court's ruling puts a chink in campaign finance law, but it also shows the ideological limits of the Roberts Court
For the 2008 presidential candidates, the Web is the newest place to stump for votes. Surprisingly, Republicans are more "Googly" then Democrats
Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign issued a stinging attack on GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney's stance on abortion Wednesday.
Given the influence of social conservatives in South Carolina, the GOP presidential debate in Columbia Tuesday will be a key test for Rudy Giuliani, a former big-city mayor who supports abortion rights.
The son of an alcoholic who sold bootleg whiskey during Prohibition, Jerry Falwell was the father of a movement to restore America as God's country.
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.
What matters in politics is not just how many people are on each side of an issue, but also how much they care about it.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his former wife donated money to Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider, old tax records show.
Aside from Rudy Giuliani's torturous explanation of his views on abortion, it was easy to discern after Thursday's debate that the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination are staunch advocates of life, namely when it comes to abortion.
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.
When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant caring about only two issues, abortion and homosexuality?
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.
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.
The morning after the closely fought midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first major abortion case in six years.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Tuesday from a Georgia woman seeking to reverse a 1973 Supreme Court ruling giving her the right to an abortion.
Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood
Some key dates surrounding moral issues:
Abortion and race: The two most divisive social issues of recent decades will get high-profile hearings this fall before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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.
Not a single doctor in South Dakota will perform an abortion, which is why Dr. Miriam McCreary has come out of retirement.
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.
Australia's lawmakers have voted Thursday to remove regulatory control of a controversial abortion drug away from the health minister.
Australia's federal lawmakers have a rare chance to vote outside party lines this week and go with their conscience on what has become a fevered debate on abortion.
President Bush touched on many different areas in his State of the Union address Tuesday. Here is a CNN Fact Check of some of the statements he made:
I watched the demonstrations this weekend marking the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and wonder at their familiarity; the candlelight vigil in front of the Supreme Court, the masses on the mall and in cities across the country, the urgent hope that protesters express as they see the fight breaking in their favor: John Roberts. Sam Alito. New laws in multiple states that are bound to wind up being challenged, so that the next battle is bound to be waged before a more sympathetic High Court.
Three Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that they would vote against President Bush's Supreme Court nominee.
For Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, it may be all over but the waiting as his confirmation hearings wrapped up Friday with Democrats mustering little momentum to block his Senate confirmation.
Years ago, senators didn't even question presidential nominees to the Supreme Court. Now they do, of course, and Judge Samuel Alito may wish this week, as the questions flood over him, that he'd lived in that quieter time.
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.
A majority of Americans say President Bush's pick to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court should not be confirmed if his confirmation hearings reveal that he would vote to overturn a woman's right to have an abortion, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday.
It may have been a sly joke, or the idealistic dreams of a young man, but Samuel Anthony Alito made clear 32 years ago where he expected his career to take him: to the very top of the judicial profession.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito said his 15-year record as a federal judge has shown he respects the rule of law, as the Senate Judiciary Committee began what could be contentious confirmation hearings.
Here are some rulings of Judge Samuel Alito from his service on the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals since 1990:
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has what his supporters say is the perfect legal background to become a leader on the Supreme Court bench: he has been a federal judge, a U.S. attorney and a top Justice Department official.
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.
With a new chief justice on the bench, the nation's high court seemed divided Wednesday in a high-profile abortion case that could have a major impact on the laws -- and politics -- regarding the medical procedure.
With a new chief justice on the bench, the nation's high court seemed divided Wednesday in a high-profile abortion case that could have a major impact on the laws -- and politics -- regarding the medical procedure.
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.
Ever get a gift that looks beautiful but comes with a long list of special-care instructions? That's what opponents of Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito got last week when his 1985 application for a job in the Reagan Justice Department surfaced in Washington. In it, Alito espoused the idea that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." With a solid majority of Americans in favor of legalized abortion, Alito's opponents thought they had finally found their cudgel. But the Senate Democrats, at least, did not seem prepared yet to use it bluntly: for Alito's nomination they have settled on a strategy that doesn't take abortion head on. "The tactic is going to be to frame it as a debate over broader rights, including privacy, civil rights and women's rights," says Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. This will avoid, Manley says, "the divisive debate over the word itself."
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."
In a two-decades old document, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito voiced his support of the Reagan administration's fight to show "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
Like any half-decent, Hollywood thriller, every serious political brawl in Washington needs at least one good villain. It's not nearly as much fun or as easy to score points and hurl invective back and forth without a compelling one-dimensional character at the center of it all. Robert Bork played that role magnificently in his 1987 epic Supreme Court battle, as did Clarence Thomas in his more understated performance four years later. More recently, during the bloody conservative revolt over the Supreme Court nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers, the real villain turned out to be her chief backer, a President who dared tell his loyal base to just trust him on this one.
Like any half-decent Hollywood thriller, every serious political brawl in Washington needs at least one good villain. It's not nearly as much fun or as easy to score points and hurl invective back and forth without a compelling one-dimensional character at the center of it all. Robert Bork played that role magnificently in his 1987 epic Supreme Court battle, as did Clarence Thomas in his more understated performance four years later. More recently, during the bloody conservative revolt over the Supreme Court nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers, the real villain turned out to be her chief backer, a president who dared tell his loyal base to just trust him on this one.
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.
Samuel Alito, President Bush's latest nominee to the Supreme Court, has what many conservatives say is the perfect legal background to become a leader on the Supreme Court bench: he has been a judge, a U.S. attorney, and a top Justice Department official.
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."
The Supreme Court's 2005-2006 term got off to an eventful start on Monday with John Roberts hearing his first case as chief justice of the United States and President Bush naming his pick to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The U.S. Supreme Court begins a new term Monday with a new chief justice who is the youngest person on the bench, an associate justice one step from retirement and a docket front-loaded with hot-button social issues.
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.
He's going to be on the Supreme Court for life. So what kind of justice will he be?
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."
This week's vicious attack on Judge John Roberts by the abortion lobby was not really a desperate effort to defeat him against overwhelming odds.
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.
President Bush on Tuesday chose as his first Supreme Court nominee U.S. Circuit Judge John Roberts Jr., a conservative whose selection pleased Republicans and prompted Democrats to vow a thorough review in the Senate.
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.
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.
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will consider limits on anti-abortion protesters outside clinics in the fall.
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