June 28, 2000 10:58 am EST
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A closely divided U.S. Supreme
Court struck down on Wednesday a law that makes it a
crime for doctors to perform a surgical abortion
procedure, a significant victory for abortion rights
advocates and the Clinton administration.
In its first abortion rights ruling in eight years, the high
court by just a 5-4 vote declared unconstitutional a
Nebraska law that outlaws a procedure that opponents of
abortion call "partial birth abortion."
The decision could have far-reaching impact as some 30
states have nearly identical anti-abortion laws, and
President Clinton has twice vetoed a similar federal ban
approved by the Republican-controlled Congress.
The ruling could shift the battle over the emotional and
divisive abortion issue to the presidential campaign.
Republican George W. Bush has supported bans like the
Nebraska law while Democrat Al Gore has opposed them.
Justice Stephen Breyer said for the majority, on the last
day of the court term, that the law results in an "undue
burden upon a woman's right to make an abortion
decision."
He said the law lacked the required exception allowing an
abortion to preserve the health of the mother. The state
may promote, but not endanger a woman's health when it
regulates methods of abortion, Breyer said.
The last ruling on abortion occurred in 1992, when the
Supreme Court reaffirmed the core holding of its landmark
1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that women have a basic
constitutional right to end a pregnancy.
Nebraska argued the law only applied to the seldom-used
abortion method called "dilation and extraction," which
involves partially extracting a fetus, legs first, through
the birth canal, cutting the skull and draining its
contents.
Nebraska said the law -- which itself is unclear -- does
not apply to a more common abortion procedure called
"dilation and evacuation."
The law made it a crime for doctors to perform partial
birth abortions, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The law contained no exception for a pregnant woman's
health.
The law defined partial birth abortion as a procedure in
which a person "deliberately and intentionally delivers into
the vagina a living unborn child, or a substantial portion
thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure" that
the person knows "will kill the unborn child."
The ruling was a victory for an Omaha doctor who
performs abortions and who challenged the law. He was
represented by the New York-based Center for
Reproductive Law and Policy.
Although many people on both sides acknowledge there
really aren't any reliable numbers, supporters of the ban
estimated the procedure has been used about 3,000 to
5,000 times a year in the second and third trimesters of
pregnancy.
Breyer said a U.S. appeals court was correct in striking
down the law on the grounds that the ban amounted to
an undue burden on a woman's right to an abortion.
"All those who perform abortion procedures using that
method (dilation and evacuation) must fear prosecution,
conviction and imprisonment. The result is an undue
burden upon a woman's right to make an abortion
decision," he said.
Breyer was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra
Day O'Connor, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The four dissenters bitterly attacked the majority. Some
dissenters said the 1992 abortion decision was wrong,
while others said states should be allowed to adopt laws
like the one in Nebraska.