Government
"Partial-birth abortion" ban loses in court again
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 13, 2004
A second federal judge has ruled that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is unconstitutional. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in August said the law did not "provide for an exception to protect the health of the mother," so it could not be enforced.
The National Abortion Federation and others filed the lawsuit in New York federal court challenging the act, which bans physicians from performing intact dilatation and extraction. It is one of three lawsuits filed in federal court.
In June, a federal judge in San Francisco also said the law was unconstitutional. A federal judge in Nebraska has yet to rule on the case in his courtroom. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ultimately decide the issue.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/09/13/gvbf0913.htm.