A victory for women's rights was won on June 1 in the continuing battle for abortion access in the United States. A federal appeals court in California ruled that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was unconstitutional. This law made a late-term abortion, or intact dilatation and extraction (emotively misnamed "partial-birth abortion" by those opposed to it), illegal. Under the legislation, criminal convictions could be brought against doctors who perform the procedure.
A suit against the law was brought before the court by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The court's ruling permanently prohibits the ban from being implemented at Planned Parenthood's clinics. Federal judges in Nebraska and New York State are also considering challenges to the law and it is likely that the issue will end up in the US Supreme Court.
US District Court judge Phyllis Hamilton of San Francisco ruled that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was unconstitutional for three reasons — it was an undue burden on women's right to choose abortion; the vague language employed in the legislation, which could be applied to a majority of second-trimester abortions; and the absence of the provision in the legislation for protecting women's health and lives.
Following the decision, US Department of Justice spokesperson Monica Goodling issued a statement declaring the department's intention to "devote all resources necessary to defend this act of Congress, which President Bush has said 'will end an abhorrent practice and continue to build a culture of life in America'". She said the department had "worked hard during these trials to fulfill the goal of the president to protect innocent new life from the practice of partial-birth abortion, and we will continue to do so".
While he was governor of Texas, George Bush oversaw more prisoner executions than any other governor in the US. That's how deep his commitment to building a "culture of life in America" runs.
Far from pursuing the goal of building a "culture of life", the passing of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was largely about shoring up Bush's electoral support from conservative and right-wing religious organisations.
There has been a long-running battle in the US over abortion rights. Since the famous Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, which recognised women's legal right to abortion, anti-choice campaigners have fought vigorously to outlaw the procedure. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was a step towards further restrictions on abortion access in the US. Unless the ban is defeated, attacks on other abortion procedures will be likely to follow.
There are no guarantees that a Democratic Party president could be relied upon to defend women's right to abortion. Sixty-three House of Representatives and 11 Senate Democrats voted with the Republicans in favour of the ban. Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry has stated that he may appoint anti-choice judges to the federal courts.
The battle is by no means over, but the June 1 federal court ruling is a step forward in the fight for women's right to control their bodies and lives. The 1 million-strong march for abortion rights in Washington DC on April 25 was a strong show of the depth of support for this issue. Now is a good time for the movement in support of women's unrestricted right to free, safe and legal abortion to go on the offensive.
Kerryn Williams
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, June 30, 2004.
Visit the