ABORTION-RIGHTS ADVOCATES APPLAUD HIGH COURT RULING.(MAIN)

Byline: AARON EPSTEIN Knight Ridder

WASHINGTON -- In a limited victory for abortion-rights advocates, the Supreme Court on Monday effectively killed an Ohio law that restricted women from getting abortions late in pregnancy and barred the controversial ``partial-birth'' procedure.

The court's 6-3 vote is not a ruling, sets no national precedent and does not prevent the justices from hearing the same issues in a future case. But the three dissenting justices -- Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia -- warned that the validity of similar laws in other states now might be in doubt.

Leaders of abortion-rights …