Supreme Court Scheduled To Hear Arguments On Federal Abortion Ban Wednesday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday is scheduled to hear arguments in two cases regarding a Department of Justice appeal to uphold a federal law banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion. President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S 3) into law in November 2003. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the National Abortion Federation and the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of four abortion providers filed lawsuits alleging that the law is unconstitutional because of the absence of a health exception, and federal judges in California, Nebraska and New York each issued temporary restraining orders to prevent enforcement of the ban. In place of a health exception, the law includes a long "findings" section with medical evidence presented during congressional hearings that, according to supporters of the law, indicates the procedures banned by the law are never medically necessary (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/6). Several newspapers have published articles about the Supreme Court arguments. Headlines appear below.

• "Abortion Case Tapes Available: Court To Release Audiotape of Arguments in Abortion Case" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/8).
  
  
• "Abortion Method Returns to Justices; Supporters of a Law Banning 'Partial-Birth' Procedures Are Counting on Alito To Provide the Key Vote in the Case" (Savage, Los Angeles Times, 11/7).
  
  
• "All Eyes on Kennedy in Court Debate on Abortion; Justice Expected To Be Swing Vote in Ruling on Late-Term Procedure" (Lane, Washington Post, 11/8).
  
  
• "The Challenger: Priscilla Smith Will Ask the U.S. Supreme Court Tomorrow To Lift the Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions" (Kahn, Boston Globe, 11/7).
  
  
• "Federal 'Partial-Birth' Ban Faces Test at High Court Today" (Stohr, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/8).
  
  
• "Roberts Court Faces First Abortion Cases; New Supreme Court Justices Could Tip the Balance To Uphold a Ban on So-Called Partial-Birth Option" (Richey, Christian Science Monitor, 11/8).
  
  
• "Supreme Court To Consider Abortion Issue" (Sherman, AP/Forbes, 11/8).
  
  
• "Two Abortion Ban Laws Challenged in High Court Today" (Peres, Chicago Tribune, 11/7).
  

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Wednesday reported on the cases. The segment includes comments from James Bopp, attorney for Wisconsin Right to Life; Fred Frigoletto, past president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and associate chief of ob-gyn services at Massachusetts General Hospital; Eve Gartner, attorney for PPFA; Michael Greene, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School; Jay Sekulow, chief council for the American Center for Law and Justice; and a woman who required an abortion procedure that is covered by the ban (Totenberg, "Morning Edition," NPR, 11/8). A transcript, audio of the segment and expanded NPR coverage are available online. In addition, NPR's "Day to Day" on Tuesday included an interview with Dahlia Lithwick, legal analyst for Slate magazine (Brand, "Day to Day," NPR, 11/7). Audio of the segment is available online.

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