Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act Ruled Unconstitutional in Two States

By Laura Vogltanz

Published on January 31, 2006

The partial birth abortion law, signed by President George W. Bush, bans intact dilation and extraction -- also known as partial birth abortion. The Bush administration has maintained that this procedure is cruel and causes unnecessary pain to the fetus, though President Clinton vetoed the bill twice while in office. Currently, the law has not been enforced due to several legal challenges throughout each state.

Abortion rights activists have argued that this law is a severe departure from the precedent in the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, which held that laws against abortion violate the constitutional right to privacy.

California's 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said the law was vague and overbroad. The Justice Department argued partial-birth abortions are never necessary to preserve a woman's health, but the Court found that there is no medical consensus to prove this, so they had no choice but to throw it out.

New York's 2nd Circuit Court issued a similar decision in a 2 to 1 ruling.

Each of these decisions is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

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