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U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review Federal Abortion Ban Ruling

Three decades of legal precedent to protect women's health should be the guide as the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case of Carhart v. Gonzales. Brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the case is one of three challenges to the Federal Abortion Ban signed into law by President Bush in 2003.

"The Supreme Court struck down a nearly identical state ban only six years ago in part because it failed to include protections for women's health. Congress deliberately defied that ruling when it passed the federal ban," said Talcott Camp, Deputy Director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

Late last month, two federal appeals courts also held the ban unconstitutional. In a challenge brought by the National Abortion Federation and seven individual physicians, the Second Circuit affirmed that the ban requires a health exception and asked for further legal briefings to determine how to remedy the violation. On the same day, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision striking down the ban in a challenge brought by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (Planned Parenthood v. Gonzales).

Congress passed the federal ban despite the numerous court decisions, including a decision in 2000 by the Supreme Court in Stenberg v. Carhart, striking down similar state bans. Courts have consistently struck down the bans for two reasons: their broad language prohibits abortions as early as 13 weeks in pregnancy, and they lack exceptions to protect women's health.

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posted by Annamarie at 6:00 PM