Federal judge rejects partial-birth abortion law

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Too cute for words
By Adam Liptak
The New York Times


A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday struck down a federal law that banned a form of abortion, saying it created a risk of criminal liability of virtually all abortions performed after the first trimester.
The law, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, enacted in November, makes it a crime for doctors to perform any "overt act" to "kill the partially delivered living fetus."
In a 117-page decision, the judge, Phyllis Hamilton, ruled that the law is unconstitutional in three ways. She said that it placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions, that its language was dangerously vague and that it lacked a required exception for medical actions needed to preserve the woman's health.
The decision was the first ruling on the merits of the law. Two other cases, in Nebraska and New York, are pending. All three judges had halted enforcement of the law while they conducted trials.
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Pesky constitution
 
Much as I hate the idea of a third-trimester abortion, the idea of a weak law with too many loop-holes trying to control something like that makes me more afraid.

I agree with knocking down that ruling so long as it means that the law will be re-written and 'firmed up'.
 
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