Court to review second partial-birth abortion case
- Jun 22, 2006 - 1
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a second decision involving the federal Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act.
The high court announced June 19 it had accepted an appeal from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down the 2003 law. In that case, the justices will determine if the ban imposes an undue burden on women and is too vague.
The Supreme Court announced in February it would review an appeal from the Eighth Circuit, which struck down the law based on its lack of an exception for the health of the mother.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the cases during its next term, which begins in October. The Ninth Circuit case is Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, and the Eighth Circuit appeal is in Gonzales v. Carhart.
In May, the ERLC signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief with the Eighth Circuit in support of the law. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted the brief.
The law bars a gruesome procedure typically used in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy. In the method, an intact baby is delivered normally feet first until only the head is left in the birth canal. The doctor pierces the base of the infant’s skull with surgical scissors before inserting a catheter into the opening and suctioning out the brain. The technique provides for easier removal of the baby’s head.
Three different appeals courts at the federal level have ruled the prohibition is unconstitutional, but pro-life advocates hold out hope the January confirmation of Samuel Alito as an associate justice means the Supreme Court will reverse those decisions. Alito replaced retired Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who voted with a 5-4 majority that struck down a state ban on partial-birth abortion six years ago.
The SBC approved resolutions condemning the partial-birth procedure in both 1996 and 2002.
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1 On Jun 23rd, 2006, at 11:47am, david Oldfather wrote:
Many medical professionals agree that partial birth abortion is never necessary. President Clinton kept it alive with his vetoes and unelected judges are overruling the will of the people. When will the insanity end?