National Political Context
104th Congress
The 104th Congress (1995-1997) was made up of 230 Republicans and 204 Democrats in the House [1]. The Senate was composed of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats [2]. After sweeping the 1994 elections, the Republican Party had control of both the House and the Senate. It was the first time in forty years that the Republican Party controlled both chambers. The Speaker of the House was Newt Gingrich of Georgia who implemented a plan called “Contract With America.” Al Gore, Clinton’s Vice President from 1993 to 2001, was the Senate President. The 104th Congress passed 337 bills with Republicans successfully slowing the expansion of “big government.”
President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Originally from Arkansas, Clinton served as governor of Arkansas from 1979-1981 and 1983-1992. Clinton’s Vice President was Al Gore, a Tennessee Senator. Clinton promoted world peace, economic stability, lowering inflation, improvements on education, restricting handgun sales, and strengthening environmental rules. In 1992 following his election, both the White House and Congress were held by the Democratic Party. This was brief as in 1994, the Republican Party won control of both the House and the Senate [3].
108th Congress
The 108th Congress (2003-2005) was composed of 205 Democrats and 229 Republicans in the House. The Senate had 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 1 Independent that cacussed with the Democrats [4].The Republican Party held a slim majority in both the House and the Senate following the 2002 midterm election. The 108th Congress attempted to restructure the country’s intelligence operations and community. In 2003, it approved military operations in Iraq [5].
President George W. Bush
America’s 43rd President, George W. Bush served as President of the United States from 2001-2009. Following the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, Bush began his presidency as a wartime President. George W. Bush is the eldest son of 41st President George Bush. George W. Bush, as the Republican nominee, won the electoral vote against Al Gore, Clinton’s Vice President. After the events on 9/11, Bush strengthened America's national security by forming a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. Furthermore, he focused on eliminating the Tablian, recasting national intelligence agencies, and ordered military reform. Bush’s most conversational act was invading Iraq. However in his 2005 campaign, Bush sought to restore the devastated Iraqi government and people [6].
The Supreme Court of the United States (2006)
On November 8th, 2006, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) argued Gonzales v. Carhart. The question that was up for debate was “Is the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban of 2003 an unconstitutional violation of personal liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment because the Act lacks an expectation for partial-birth abortions necessary to protect the health of the mother?” With a 5-4 vote by the Court, it was held that Congress’s ban on PBA was not unconstitutionally vague and did not impose an undue burden on the right to an abortion (Planned Parenthood v. Casey). Furthermore, the Court agreed with Congress that the intact D&X procedure (PBA) was not medically necessary despite the opinion of some members of the medical community. With this understanding, the lack of expectation for the mother’s health–as found in Stenberg v. Carhart–was not needed. Decided on April 18th, 2007, Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter, and Breyer voted against the majority rule (Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas) in a 5-4 vote [7].
1. History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “104th Congress (1995–1997),” https://history.house.gov/Congressional-Overview/Profiles/104th/ (April 24, 2023)
2. United States Senate, “Party Division,” https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm (April 24, 2023)
3. The White House, “William J. Clinton: The 42nd President of the United States,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-j-clinton/ (April 24, 2023)
4. United States Senate, “Party Division,” https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm (April 24, 2023)
5. History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “108th Congress (2003–2005),” https://history.house.gov/Congressional-Overview/Profiles/108th/ (April 25, 2023)
6. The White House, “George W. Bush: The 43nd President of the United States,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-j-clinton/ (April 25, 2023)
7. "Gonzales v. Carhart." Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-380. (April 25, 2023)