‘Partial-Birth’ Abortions Banned

Florida lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban a controversial late-term abortion technique, overriding a gubernatorial veto and setting the stage for a battle in both state and federal courts. After more than 1 1/2 hours of emotional debate, the state Senate voted, 32-7, to override Gov. Lawton Chiles’ veto last summer that struck down a ban on a late-term abortion method called “partial-birth” abortion by its opponents. The method entails partially delivering a fetus and using an instrument to destroy its brain. “It is not about protecting the mother; it is about killing a child,” said Republican Sen. Anna Cowin of Leesburg, who presented the motion to override.