Michael Ramirez on the US Supreme Court Upholding the BAN on Partial Birth Abortion
Supreme Court OKs Abortion Procedure Ban
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority handed anti-abortion forces a major victory Wednesday in a decision that bans a controversial abortion procedure and set the stage for further restrictions.
For the first time since the court established a woman’s right to an abortion in 1973, the justices upheld a nationwide ban on a specific abortion method, labeled partial-birth abortion by its opponents.
The 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
The law is constitutional despite not containing an exception that would allow the procedure if needed to preserve a woman’s health, Kennedy said. “The law need not give abortion doctors unfettered choice in the course of their medical practice,” he wrote in the majority opinion.
Doctors who violate the law face up to two years in federal prison.
Kennedy’s opinion, joined by Bush’s two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, was a long-awaited resounding win that abortion opponents expected from the more conservative bench.
The administration defended the law as drawing a bright line between abortion and infanticide.
Reacting to the ruling, Bush said that it affirms the progress his administration has made to defend the “sanctity of life.”
GOP Presidential candidates in favor:
Democrat Presidential candidates against:
The case 05-380 Gonzales v. Carhart
Previous:
Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirezPartialBirthAbortion, SupremeCourt, RudyGiuliani, JohnMcCain, MittRomney, HillaryClinton, BarackObama, JohnEdwards
2 Comments
Psycheout
This is a great day for the pro-life movement. We have Senator Sam Brownback to thank for rejecting the Miers nomination and getting Justice Alito on the court.
Flap
Harriet Miers would most probably have ruled the same way.