Government

"Partial-birth abortion" ban again ruled unconstitutional

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 27, 2004

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

A third federal judge has declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf for the District of Nebraska ruled earlier this month that the law doesn't make exceptions for cases in which the procedure is deemed medically necessary to protect a woman's health.

LeRoy Carhart, MD, the physician who successfully fought a similar Nebraska law in a court case that wound up before the U.S. Supreme Court, and several other physicians filed the lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft when the ink was barely dry on the new law.

The act outlaws "partial-birth abortion" -- a nonmedical term lawmakers and some opponents use to refer to what most closely describes intact dilatation and extraction -- and creates criminal punishment for physicians who do the procedure. The act has not been enforced since it was signed into law because three lawsuits challenged it immediately.

Federal judges in New York and San Francisco similarly ruled the act unconstitutional. Appeals are under way, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to have the final say.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/09/27/gvbf0927.htm.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn