abortion ban law deemed unconstitutional

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 1:45pm

A federal court has just ruled that the law banning so-called partial birth abortion is unconstitutional.

Oops.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 2:30pm

Isn't the partial birth ban kind of a red herring anyway? Isn't it some kind of procedure that is never or very rarely ever done? So much information (and misinformation) has always been spread about abortions that it's hard to make right of it sometimes.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 3:22pm

oh i don't know, bway. i'm a pretty open minded kinda guy on many issues and am pro-choice, but this procedure is particularly grisly and heinous and i do not condone it. the ban as signed by gw does contain an exception for the life of the mother as it should. this procedure even as much as it's touted as a rare occurance happens far too often as merely an elective surgery as statements by ron fitzsimmons (executive director of the national coalition of abortion providers) in the ny times as far back as 1997 clearly show. i got no problem with someone choosing to end a pregnancy, but make a decision early enough so that a fully formed child is not being killed unless only that death will spare the mother's life.

Updated On: 6/1/04 at 03:22 PM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 3:26pm

thank you for the information. I would swear I had read somewhere that this procedure had never been legally performed in the US anyway and it was one of those "scare tactic" policies...sort of a straw man, I suppose.
I almost put in my last post if it were possible to be a pro-life choicer? I'm certainly all for someone having a choice, I would just prefer they choose life when at all possible.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 3:32pm

well, the right to lifers will claim that it's being done at the rate of probably 1 every 15 minutes and the pro choicers will say it's being done once a day and only when it's the only way to save the mother's life. so you probably did read that. the propaganda from both sides is voluminous and by and large wrong. if you want to learn about the procedure, just google it and try to find a site that is either non-partisan, or just acknowledge going in that certain sites have certain biases and try to look beyond them. in the abortion debate, the rhetoric from both sides is so entrenched and vitriolic that it's hard to find where the facts lie in any case.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 3:33pm

wow. So you're basically saying it's right up there with the Kristin or Idina debate?

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 6/1/04 at 4:33pm

I have a family member in obstetrics, so I feel pretty well informed on this. Partial-birth abortions ARE performed in the U.S. and are legal in almost all circumstances up to 25 weeks. However, most physicians will not perform them except under very specific circumstances. One of these is if the birth of the child could cause the death of the mother. Another is if the child will have a severe defect which will most likely cause it to die shortly after birth and the mother does not wish to carry it to term.

One issue surrounding partial birth abortions that makes them particularly controversial, is that in some RARE cases, the babies have survived the abortions. Of course, once they are out of the womb and still alive, they are rushed to infant ICU and everything possible is done to keep them alive. Irony.