Split seen in anti-abortion movement

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- A major crack has developed in the coalition of Protestant and Roman Catholic groups that constitute the anti-abortion movement in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision last April upholding the ban on partial birth abortion has reopened an old split in the movement between purists who seek total prohibition of abortion and those who support piecemeal restrictions, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Banding together, the heads of five small groups have taken out newspaper ads criticizing Focus on the Family founder James Dobson for applauding the high court ruling and using the issue for fundraising.

Those groups see the court's decision as actually affirming late-term abortions provided you follow its guidelines.

"All you have to do is read the ruling, and you will find that this will never save a single child," says Brian Rohrbough, president of Colorado Right to Life, one of the signers of the newspaper ad.

Another signer, the Rev. Bob Enyart of the Denver Bible Church, criticized anti-abortion groups for using the partial birth issue to raise billions of dollars.