Flashtraffic: Pro-life legislation?

More pro-life legislation could pass during the 108th Congress than at any time since Roe vs. Wade. House leaders will move quickly to pass the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003." This will prohibit any person or company from knowingly: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in such an attempt; (3) shipping or receiving an embryo produced from human cloning; or (4) importing such an embryo.

This bill is spearheaded by a Democrat-Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan. He teamed up with Republican Rep. Dave Weldon, a Florida physician, and the Stupak bill passed the House decisively last session, 265-162. Democratic leaders refused to bring it up for a vote in the Senate. Sen. Frist supports the ban.

Other pro-life bills expected to pass and be signed by the president: the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act, the Child Custody Protection Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and a bill to allow faith-based hospitals to opt out of performing abortions. Announcing Sunday, Jan. 19, as "National Sanctity of Human Life Day," President Bush also signaled support for several other pro-life legislative priorities, including "helping women in crisis through maternity group homes, encouraging adoption, promoting abstinence education, and passing laws requiring parental notification and waiting periods for minors."