BRUNO PUSHES FOR BAN ON LATE ABORTIONS.(MAIN)

Byline: TOM PRECIOUS Capitol bureau

ALBANY -- Less than two weeks after President Clinton vetoed a bill to ban a rarely used procedure for late-stage abortions, the state Senate is poised to pass essentially the same measure today.

Facing what some senators said was pressure from the Catholic Church and other Christian groups, the Senate's Republican leaders moved Tuesday to rush the bill to the floor before lawmakers wrap up this week's session later this afternoon.

The procedure is used about 400 times a year nationwide, according to medical groups. It has provoked sharp division, with some physicians and women's groups saying it is sometimes medically necessary and abortion opponents calling it murder.

Abortion rights advocates were caught off guard Tuesday as word spread that the Senate was planning swift action. But lobbying quickly became frantic late in the day. Several senators said privately that they …