United States Supreme Court debates partial-birth abortion
Opponents speak out about the 'blurred line between abortion and infanticide'
Jamie Metrick
Issue date: 11/20/06 Section: World
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"So nine people appointed by the President are going to decide the fate of all women? That really bugs me," said senior Political Science and Environmental Studies major Kym Teslik.
While Roe v. Wade keeps most abortions legal, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Nov. 8 to lift the federal ban on partial-birth abortion. A 2003 decision to outlaw the procedure is considered unconstitutional by abortion rights activists, because it does not include protection for the pregnant woman's health.
The Bush Administration is pushing that the court remembers its latest decision in 2003. Abortion advocates rely on the initial 2000 Supreme Court decision in Nebraska lifting a similar ban on the grounds that it also lacked health protection.
Dilation and extraction, or "partial-birth" abortion, usually occurs in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy.
The normal practice of this method consists of an intact fetus delivered feet first, until only the head is left in the birth canal. The doctor proceeds to pierce the fetus's skull and inserts a catheter into the opening to suction out the brain, killing the fetus.
This process does very little damage to the mother's uterus.
Several thousand of these types of abortion are performed out of over 1.25 million abortions annually. Ninety percent of abortions take place during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and are not being discussed in the hearings.
When the Supreme Court made their 2000 ruling in Nebraska, the vote to lift the ban was 5-4. Justices O'Connor and Rehnquist were still presiding. O'Connor, a moderate, was the swing vote that permitted the legalization.
Today, Justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor have been replaced by Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justice Samuel Alito. This is the first abortion related hearing both have faced.
"(Roberts and Alito) were put there to stop certain issues, and (abortion) is one of them," said Aaron Goldfarb, a senior concentrating in women's studies. "It was very clever of the Republicans."
While Roe v. Wade keeps most abortions legal, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Nov. 8 to lift the federal ban on partial-birth abortion. A 2003 decision to outlaw the procedure is considered unconstitutional by abortion rights activists, because it does not include protection for the pregnant woman's health.
The Bush Administration is pushing that the court remembers its latest decision in 2003. Abortion advocates rely on the initial 2000 Supreme Court decision in Nebraska lifting a similar ban on the grounds that it also lacked health protection.
Dilation and extraction, or "partial-birth" abortion, usually occurs in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy.
The normal practice of this method consists of an intact fetus delivered feet first, until only the head is left in the birth canal. The doctor proceeds to pierce the fetus's skull and inserts a catheter into the opening to suction out the brain, killing the fetus.
This process does very little damage to the mother's uterus.
Several thousand of these types of abortion are performed out of over 1.25 million abortions annually. Ninety percent of abortions take place during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and are not being discussed in the hearings.
When the Supreme Court made their 2000 ruling in Nebraska, the vote to lift the ban was 5-4. Justices O'Connor and Rehnquist were still presiding. O'Connor, a moderate, was the swing vote that permitted the legalization.
Today, Justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor have been replaced by Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justice Samuel Alito. This is the first abortion related hearing both have faced.
"(Roberts and Alito) were put there to stop certain issues, and (abortion) is one of them," said Aaron Goldfarb, a senior concentrating in women's studies. "It was very clever of the Republicans."
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crowsonguy
Nick Sheridan
posted 11/21/06 @ 12:25 AM EST
I resent the one sided headline to this news article. It is only opponents of this form of late term abortion that have labeled it as "partial birth abortion" to arouse emotions against it. (Continued…)
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