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US court to decide federal ban on some abortions

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 10:12 CST

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would decide a Bush administration appeal urging the justices to uphold a federal law that bans certain abortion procedures.

The justices agreed to review a U.S. appeals court ruling that declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 unconstitutional because it lacks an exception to protect the health of a pregnant woman.

Abortion has been one of the most contentious issues for the high court since its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 that women have a constitutional right to abortion.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously last month that a New Hampshire abortion law should not have been struck down entirely when the problem involved only the part of the law that lacked an exception for a pregnant minor's health emergency.

The court's action on the federal law was announced with new Justice Samuel Alito on the bench. The conservative Alito replaced Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who often cast the decisive vote supporting abortion rights before she retired.

President George W. Bush in 2003 signed the federal legislation into law, but it has never been enforced because of court challenges. Six different federal courts around the country have all found the law to be unconstitutional.

Source: REUTERS

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