U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf, ruling in Carhart v. Ashcroft, joined two other judges in finding that the so-called “Partial Birth Abortion Ban,” passed by Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush in 2003, is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
“President Bush stands zero for three — his federal abortion ban has now been struck down for the third time,” Elizabeth Cavendish, interim president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement Sept. 8.
“However we know this administration will not be deterred — they will continue plotting to change the federal courts so they can reach their ultimate goal of eliminating a woman’s right to choose. Their strategy is clear — they can’t stop striking out, so they’re going to hire umpires who share their disastrous vision.”
In his 476-page ruling, Judge Kopf wrote that the act “does not allow, and instead prohibits, the use of the procedure when necessary to preserve the health of a woman.” He also noted that the abortion methods banned in the law are necessary when a woman’s health is in jeopardy.
Carhart v. Ashcroft is one of three district court cases striking down the Bush administration’s attempt to impose extreme and overreaching legislation with complete disregard for women’s health and the law.
Last month, a federal district judge in New York struck down the same ban in NAF v. Ashcroft, and in June, a San Francisco federal district judge in Planned Parenthood v. Ashcroft, also barred the U.S. Department of Justice from enforcing the ban.
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