Appeals court: Abortion ban unconstitutional

[ckramer]

Four federal courts have examined the legality of the 2003 federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, and, as of Friday, four have found the measure unconstitutional.

In a ruling released Friday morning, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the act unconstitutional because it failed to allow the procedure to protect a woman's health.

Judge Kermit Bye, writing for the panel, said a lack of consensus within the medical community on the necessity of the procedure means it cannot be banned by government.

"In effect, we believe when a lack of consensus exists in the medical community, the Constitution requires legislatures to err on the side of protecting women's health by including a health exception," he wrote.

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[Moderator]

1. Duplicate

from Friday
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1612654