Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Abortion News

US Federal Appeals Court Declares Missouri 'Partial-Birth' Abortion Law Unconstitutional

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 30 Nov 2005 - 17:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

A three-judge panel of the Kansas City, Mo.-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower court's ruling that a Missouri law that bans so-called "partial-birth" abortion is unconstitutional because it lacks a health exception, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Mannies, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/29). Under the 1999 law, which is called the Missouri Infant's Protection Act, individuals who cause "the death of a living infant ... by an overt act performed when the infant is partially born or born" could face charges equal to murder. The law has never been enforced. In the appeal, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America argued that the law is unconstitutional and violates the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, which effectively barred state abortion bans. U.S. District Judge Scott Wright in July 2004 ruled Missouri's law unconstitutional because it does not include an exception to protect the health of pregnant women. Wright said that he based his decision on the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Stenberg v. Carhart that struck down a similar Nebraska law for lacking a health exception (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/12/04). The 8th Circuit Court panel in its ruling said the state had not provided any new evidence, such as a medical consensus or a study on the procedure, to contradict the 2000 Supreme Court ruling, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Lieb, AP/Kansas City Star, 11/28).

Reaction
Paula Gianino, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said she is "pleased and relieved," adding, "Every major decision by a court in this country, including the United States Supreme Court, has said that any attempt to ban abortion must always include two exceptions or protections -- to protect both the health and the life of a woman in the event of any serious medical crisis or emergency." Patty Skain, executive director of Missouri Right to Life, said the ruling was expected considering the legal precedents set by the Supreme Court. However, Skain said, "We hope for a Supreme Court in the future that believes that this procedure should not be protected." Scott Holste, spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon (D), said Nixon's office is reviewing the ruling and has not decided whether to file an appeal (Morris, Kansas City Star, 11/29).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Haiti Appeal

Haiti Appeal Image
The severe earthquake that struck Haiti has inflicted damage and devastation on a massive scale. Please donate to the Doctors Without Borders Haiti Appeal.

PLEASE DONATE HERE


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
China's One-Child Policy Leads To Coerced Abortion, Sterilization, Columnist Parker Writes
13 Nov 2009
Although "no one supports forced abortion," coerced abortions and involuntary sterilizations "are commonplace in China" under the country's one-child policy, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker writes in the Washington Post...


How to Build a Better Relationship with Your Doctor
How to Build a Better Relationship with Your Doctor

With appointments lasting 15 minutes or less, it can be hard to communicate with your doctor. But there are some tips on how to get the most out of your visit.

more videos are available in our health videos section.