November 6, 2006

Constitutionality of partial-birth abortions goes before United States Supreme Court

STORY IDEA:  On Wednesday this week the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether a federal ban on second-trimester abortions is invalid because it lacks a health exception or is otherwise unconstitutional on its face.

Many believe it was only a matter of time before the issue came before the Supreme Court. The case stems from the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 which proved divisive across political camps in the U.S. Following its passage, a number of abortion providers and abortion rights groups filed lawsuits challenging its constitutionality.

Abortion alone is a divisive issue, but in this case it is further complicated by the fact that with the Abortion Ban Act, the federal government acted on an issue that has traditionally been left to states to determine for themselves.

Local healthcare attorney Thomas Taylor of Johns, Flaherty & Collins can provide local perspective on what may become a landmark case with far-reaching ramifications for abortions of all types. He can explain both the issues and the impact to area residents.

BACKGROUND:   With the additions of John Roberts and Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court is arguably more conservative than the last time it took up abortion. That was in 2000 when the Court’s decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey upheld Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision establishing that most laws against abortion violate a person’s right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The types of abortions in question, coined "partial-birth abortion" by abortion critics, involve procedures known as dilation and evacuation (D&E) and dilation and extraction (D&X) involve a medical practitioner using forceps to pull the fetus partially out of the birth canal and then collapsing its head with scissors in order to completely remove it. These methods accounted for 0.17% of all abortions performed in 2000.

CONTACT:  Thomas Taylor, Johns, Flaherty & Collins, 608-784-5678 or Annette Mikat, Mikat Public Relations, 608-782-1780.