Late Term Abortion Case

Well, CNN is reporting that the late-term abortion case is going to go before the Supreme Court in the fall. Last we saw, this ridiculous law had been overturned:

A federal appeals court had ruled against the government, saying the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003 was unconstitutional because it did not provide a health exception to pregnant women facing a medical emergency

Indeed, this is not even the first time a law has had trouble for the same reason:

In 2000, the justices threw out Nebraska’s version banning the “partial birth” procedure. Using an earlier legal standard, the court concluded 5-4 that the state law was an “undue burden” on women because it lacked the critical health exception.

Despite that ruling, the Republican-controlled Congress — backed by the Bush White House — passed its own version three years later.

So why is the Supreme Court even hearing this case? Well, because the Justice Department told them to:

On the federal late-term abortion law, the Justice Department urged the justices to accept the case, saying the lower courts viewed the issue incorrectly.

“That decision overrides Congress’s carefully considered finding, following nine years of hearings and debates, that partial-birth abortion is never necessary to preserve a mother’s health,” Solicitor General Paul Clement said in a legal brief.

What arrogance! How can they say something will never be necessary? Really, not even in one possible instance? Incredible. These decisions should be left to a doctor and a patient, who are in a much better position to know the risks in a given situation that legislators in a far-off city.

Which is exactly what Cecile Richards, President of The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, had to say:

“Health-care decisions should be made by women, with their doctors and families — not politicians,” Richards added. “Lawmakers should stop playing politics with women’s health and lives.”

Sounds pretty good to me. Aren’t conservatives supposed to keep their noses out of other people’s business? I know, I know, abortion is murder. However, as I’ve written about before, the uncertainty about the status of a fetus means the final decision should be made between a woman and her doctor. Laws that prevent that freedom are unconstitutional and offensive to the spirit of our nation.