Ott's views on the partial-birth abortion ban and gay rights were not nearly as conservative as are Connelly's.

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However those involved in putting together the partial-birth abortion ban say they have taken that court's objections at that time into account.

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The five-member majority that has been in place since Justice Alito joined the Court in 2006 has upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, undermined the once-untouchable Brown, expanded Second Amendment rights in an unprecedented way, and issued a series of unrelated opinions favoring corporations.

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He has supported several measures to restrict abortion rights, ban partial-birth abortion and define human fetuses as children (with attendant government-provided health benefits).

ECONOMIST: George Bush and the social conservatives

Only four black congressmen voted to ban partial-birth abortion in 2003, though most blacks abhor the procedure.

ECONOMIST: Yes, but they keep quiet about it

Was it because Mr. Santorum, who authored the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and opposes gay marriage, was too conservative on social issues?

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Last week, for example, a court in New York declared unconstitutional a ban on so-called partial-birth abortion that Mr Bush signed into law in 2003.

ECONOMIST: Reproductive health