WASHINGTON (AP) – The House voted Thursday to ban a type of abortion that for years has been at the center of the debate over a woman’s reproductive rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House voted Thursday to ban a type of abortion that for years has been at the center of the debate over a woman’s reproductive rights. President Bush has promised to sign the bill into law and opponents say they will immediately challenge it in court. The bill, passed 281-142, could be taken up by the Senate as early as Friday. Bush’s signature would make it the first federal law since Roe v. Wade in 1973 to restrict a specific abortion procedure.