In cases that may be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, two federal appeals courts recently struck down the federal ban on partial-birth abortion, ruling as another appeals court did in 2005 that the law is unconstitutional.
Although the ruling Jan. 31 from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals out of San Francisco was unanimous, the ruling on the same day from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City was split 2-to-1, and two of the judges made a point to criticize the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 ruling that struck down bans on partial-birth abortion. John Walker Jr., chief judge of the Second Circuit, called partial-birth abortion “deeply disturbing” and “morally repugnant.”
“(I)t is my duty to follow that precedent no matter how personally distasteful the fulfillment of that duty may be,” Walker, a nominee of the first President Bush, wrote in a concurring opinion.
President George Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law in 2003, although courts have prevented it from being enforced. Last summer, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals out of St. Louis ruled the law unconstitutional, and the Bush administration subsequently appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The latest two rulings also are expected to be appealed.
Although the high court has yet to announce whether it will hear the case, pro-lifers are hopeful the court will take it up and that new Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will provide a critical fifth vote to uphold the ban.