The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 760, S 3) (1) is a bill originating in the U.S. House of Representatives that bans so-called "partial-birth abortion", defined as:

an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.

The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 5th, 2003. At the time it became law, whether it would take legal effect in all 50 states was uncertain pending the outcome of court challenges. Implementation of the bill was quickly blocked by federal judges in San Francisco, New York and Lincoln, Nebraska. For further information on the political and legal issues surrounding the bill, see Abortion in the United States.

Abortion-rights activists such as NARAL decried the lack of an exemption for the health of the mother - something that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor explicitly stated would be necessary for such a ban to be constitutional in her decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, which struck down a similar Nebraska law. The bill's supporters claimed that such abortions were never medically necessary, and stated so in the findings of a bill. There may be no known precedent for Congress attempting to overturn the will of the Supreme Court through the findings section of a bill. In addition, supporters claimed that these abortions were morally wrong, a contention that was hotly disputed by abortion supporters.

Table of contents

1 Status of the Law 1.1 June 1, 2004 2 References

Status of the Law

June 1, 2004

Federal District Judge Phyllis Hamilton of California struck it down on June 1, 2004 on three grounds (2):

• Because it places an 'undue burden' (i.e., "a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.") on women seeking abortion.
• Because its language is unconstitutionally vague.
• Because it lacks constitutionally-required provisions to preserve women's health (the law only provides for cases in which a woman's life is at risk).

A nationwide injunction was withheld while waiting for similar decisions from Federal Courts of Nebraska and New York.

References

1. The text of the law from the U.S. Government Printing Office (External Link, PDF)
2. Planned Parenthood vs. United States Decision (External Link, PDF)

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