Supreme Court to decide 2nd abortion law case

[Avalux]

Both of the cases will be reviewed/decided when the next session of the Supreme Court begins in October. Can't help having bad vibes about it, and so close to the November elections. Can anyone say wedge isssue?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would expand its review of a federal law banning some abortion procedures and would decide a California case on whether the law was too vague and imposed a burden on women.

The justices in February agreed to rule on a Nebraska case on whether the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is unconstitutional because it lacks an exception to protect the health of a pregnant woman.

The California case involved additional issues on whether the law imposed an undue burden on a woman's right to seek an abortion and whether it is unconstitutionally vague. A U.S. appeals court declared the law unconstitutional and upheld an injunction barring its enforcement.

Both cases will be decided in the upcoming term that begins in October. The law represents the first nationwide ban on an abortion procedure since the Supreme Court's landmark 1973 ruling that women have a constitutional right to abortion.

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-19T141634Z_01_N13435477_RTRUKOC_0_US-COURT-ABORTION.xml

[Lars39]

1. Thanks for posting this.

More people need to realize what is at stake. :kick:

[Avalux]

2. Yes, a storm is coming.

Kathleen Blanco (LA) just signed an abortion limitations bill that would only take effect if Roe V. Wade is changed. Hmmm.....

[Cerridwen]

3. The lack of vigilance....grrrrrrrrr...see sig. line, too

The justices in February agreed to rule on a Nebraska case on whether the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is unconstitutional because it lacks an exception to protect the health of a pregnant woman.

Howzabout they examine whether the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act" is unconstitutional because its wording is medically and rhetorically disingenuous and therefore a lie.

What has been framed as "partial-birth abortion" or "late term abortion" has not even been adequately defined or agreed upon by the medical community!

The occurrence of "late term abortion" can not be accurately tracked as statistics concerning abortion do not include the gestational period, but is estimated to represent, in the United States, "1.4% of abortions occur at 21 weeks or later (approximately 18,000 per year). In 1997, the Alan Guttmacher Institute estimated the number of abortions past 24 weeks to be 0.08% (approximately 1,032 per year)."

Or, howzabout we fix the reasons women may wait to have an abortion? Ya know, those goofy things like education, women's health care access and availability, and, oh, I dunno, let's remove the freaking obstacles to obtaining abortion.

The women having abortions after 15 weeks attributed their lateness in obtaining the procedure to not having realized earlier that they were pregnant (or how long they had been pregnant), having had difficulty in arranging the abortion and (in the case of teenagers) having been afraid to tell their parents they were pregnant.

:nuke:


edit: grammar

[BadgerKid]

12. For something really insidious

The next step would be to blame/fine/imprison a woman for (1) not knowing whether she was pregnant, and (2) not taking the proper nutrition (q.v. a recent news "article" suggesting that fertile women get adequate folic acid).

Are the R^4 (radial religious right republicans) THAT insane?

*kick*

[Crowdance]

4. We pretty much know how this is going to go.

Wasn't that half the point point of the Roberts/Alito appointments--to deliver on the evil regime's promises to the Religious Right? (The other half being to deliver to its "base" in the upper 20%.) The storm came, went and moved on out to sea, and the uppity women of America are well on their way too being put in their place.

[ComerPerro]

5. It is up in October so it can be shot down, to rally fundies

because they NEED to feel persecuted.

And in a nation that is supposedly 85% Christian (as they sometimes try to claim) it seems amazing to me that Christians can feel so oppressed...

[Avalux]

6. That's a likely scenario.

I'm on the fence, but I do feel they won't ever overturn Roe because it's better for them to use it as a tool of persecution.

[SmokingJacket]

7. They'll use it as a tool until they don't need it anymore.

Then I think they just might overturn it.

At this point, though, as long as the five more liberal justices stay alive, Roe won't go anywhere. Unfortunately, John Paul Stevens is 86. :scared:

[Lars39]

8. kick

[Lars39]

9. More people need to see this!

:kick:

[IsIt1984Yet]

10. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Avalux]

11. Thanks for the kicks!

It really is important! :hi:

[Lars39]

13. Sure is!

The thread acts like it has lead weights on it today for some reason. :hi:

[Gman]

14. The real powers that be in the GOP really don't care about abortion

its all about get out the vote and keeping America corporate.

[Avalux]

15. Agreed. They know their base -

and they know how powerful abortion is in motivating them. A lot of people will vote for Republicans based on this one single issue. The SC debate over this will be front and center in October; you can bet on it.