WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com)

    In the aftermath of the US Supreme Court's decision to strike down a Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortion on Wednesday, Congress prepared new federal legislation banning the procedure, the high court ordered lower courts to review similar laws in other states, and many pro-life and pro-abortion groups weighed in with their opinions.

    House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, said lawmakers will study the court opinion as they formulate a new proposal, including the court's requirement of an exemption to protect the health of the mother. President Bill Clinton vetoed two similar bills in 1996 and 1997. The new bill is expected to be on the president's desk before the November elections.

    The Supreme Court on Thursday also ordered lower courts to restudy bans on partial-birth abortions in Illinois and Wisconsin, taking into account the standards set by Wednesday's ruling. The court also let stand a ruling that struck down Iowa's ban on the procedure.

    Pro-life groups were particularly disappointed at the Supreme Court's decision on Wednesday, but held out hope for the future. Bob Blank, president of Metro Right to Life, a pro-life group in Omaha, Nebraska, called the ruling a disappointment. "The Supreme Court of the United States chose not to listen to the people of the United States," he said.

    Family Research Council vice president Chuck Donovan said the ruling is not unexpected given the direction the court has moved over the past three decades. "This is the lethal logic of Roe v Wade (1973). There is no longer any doubt," he said. "Roe was succeeded by the ridiculous Casey ruling (1992). In Casey, the court admitted it did not know if Roe was right or wrong, but since the court is a very important court, and since many people rely on abortion, the judges said, in effect, everyone should shut up and go back to work."

    He added: "The Supreme Court's odious partial-birth abortion ruling is the cruelest, most unjust ruling in American history."

    Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush said: "States should have the right to enact reasonable laws and restrictions, particularly to end the inhumane practice of ending a life that would otherwise live," he said.

    "I hope and expect that we can come up with a law that meets constitutional muster, and unlike [Democratic presidential candidate] Al Gore, I pledge to fight for a ban on partial birth abortion," he said.

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