U.S. Senate Gives Final Approval to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, 64-33
Shown below is the roll call vote by which the U.S. Senate gave final approval to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S. 3) on October 21, 2003, by a vote of 64 to 34. The bill then went President Bush for his signature.
On November 5, President Bush signed the bill into law (see story, page 1).
The bill, sponsored by Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), has been a major legislative priority of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) since 1995.
The bill prohibits performance of a "partial-birth abortion," legally defined as any abortion in which the living baby is delivered feet-first outside the body of the mother past the baby's navel, or in which the baby's entire head is delivered outside the body of the mother, before the baby is killed.
The bill contains an exception if the method was ever necessary to save the life of a mother.
On this roll call (Senate roll call no. 402), the bill was supported by 47 Republicans and 17 Democrats. It was opposed by three Republicans, 30 Demo-crats, and one independent. Absent were Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx.), a supporter of the bill, and Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), an opponent of the bill.
Prior to this roll call, the House of Representatives had already given final approval to the bill on October 2, 281-142 (see roll call, pages 14-15).
For further information on the issue of partial-birth abortion and the current status of the new law, visit the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org.
KEY
X Pro-life vote (for S. 3)
O Pro-abortion vote (against S. 3)
? Absent or not voting
Alabama
Richard Shelby (R) X
Jeff Sessions (R) X
Alaska
Ted Stevens (R) X
Lisa Murkowski (R) X
Arizona
John McCain (R) X
Jon Kyl (R) X
Arkansas
Blanche Lincoln (D) X
Mark Pryor (D) X
California
Dianne Feinstein (D) O
Barbara Boxer (D) O
Colorado
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) X
Wayne Allard (R) X
Connecticut
Christopher Dodd (D) O
Joseph Lieberman (D) O
Delaware
Joseph Biden (D) X
Thomas Carper (D) X
Florida
Bob Graham (D) O
Bill Nelson (D) O
Georgia
Zell Miller (D) X
Saxby Chambliss (R) X
Hawaii
Daniel Inouye (D) O
Daniel Akaka (D) O
Idaho
Larry Craig (R) X
Michael Crapo (R) X
Illinois
Richard Durbin (D) O
Peter Fitzgerald (R) X
Indiana
Richard Lugar (R) X
Evan Bayh (D) X
Iowa
Charles Grassley (R) X
Tom Harkin (D) O
Kansas
Sam Brownback (R) X
Pat Roberts (R) X
Kentucky
Mitch McConnell (R) X
Jim Bunning (R) X
Louisiana
John Breaux (D) X
Mary Landrieu (D) X
Maine
Olympia Snowe (R) O
Susan Collins (R) O
Maryland
Paul Sarbanes (D) O
Barbara Mikulski (D) O
Massachusetts
Edward Kennedy (D) O
John Kerry (D) O
Michigan
Carl Levin (D) O
Debbie Stabenow (D) O
Minnesota
Mark Dayton (D) O
Norm Coleman (R) X
Mississippi
Thad Cochran (R) X
Trent Lott (R) X
Missouri
Christopher Bond (R) X
Jim Talent (R) X
Montana
Max Baucus (D) O
Conrad Burns (R) X
Nebraska
Chuck Hagel (R) X
Ben Nelson (D) X
Nevada
Harry Reid (D) X
John Ensign (R) X
New Hampshire
Judd Gregg (R) X
John Sununu (R) X
New Jersey
Jon Corzine (D) O
Frank Lautenberg (D) O
New Mexico
Pete Domenici (R) X
Jeff Bingaman (D) O
New York
Charles Schumer (D) O
Hillary Clinton (D) O
North Carolina
John Edwards (D) NV
Elizabeth Dole (R) X
North Dakota
Kent Conrad (D) X
Byron Dorgan (D) X
Ohio
Mike DeWine (R) X
George Voinovich (R) X
Oklahoma
Don Nickles (R) X
James Inhofe (R) X
Oregon
Ron Wyden (D) O
Gordon Smith (R) X
Pennsylvania
Arlen Specter (R) X
Rick Santorum (R) X
Rhode Island
Jack Reed (D) O
Lincoln Chafee (R) O
South Carolina
Ernest Hollings (D) X
Lindsey Graham (R) X
South Dakota
Thomas Daschle (D) X
Tim Johnson (D) X
Tennessee
Bill Frist (R) X
Lamar Alexander (R) X
Texas
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) NV
John Cornyn (R) X
Utah
Orrin Hatch (R) X
Robert Bennett (R) X
Vermont
Patrick Leahy (D) X
James Jeffords (I) O
Virginia
John Warner (R) X
George Allen (R) X
Washington
Patty Murray (D) O
Maria Cantwell (D) O
West Virginia
Robert Byrd (D) X
John Rockefeller (D) O
Wisconsin
Herbert Kohl (D) O
Russ Feingold (D) O
Wyoming
Craig Thomas (R) X
Michael Enzi (R) X