Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000).
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/www/sph/lw/pvl/lim/Partial-01-jan11.htmAbortion has long been, and remains, the most politicized medical procedure in the United States. It has been the subject of more state and federal legislation than all other medical procedures combined. The U.S. Supreme Court, which almost never hears cases about medical procedures, has regularly heard cases over the past 25 years concerning the constitutionality of various state laws designed to limit abortion. Thus, it was only a matter of time before the Court would hear a case on the constitutionality of laws restricting so-called partial-birth abortion.1 When the Court heard a challenge to Nebraska's law, statutes relating to partial-birth abortion had been enacted in 30 states, and two bills banning such abortions had been passed by Congress. All the appeals courts except one, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, had found these laws unconstitutional, and the opinion of that court rested on an extremely narrow interpretation of the law.2
The controversies surrounding partial-birth abortion are over how to describe the procedure and whether physicians ever need to use it to protect the health of a pregnant woman. The Supreme Court confronted these issues in the case of Stenberg v. Carhart last summer.3
The Nebraska law provides that "no partial birth abortion shall be performed in this state, unless such procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself."4 Like the federal acts twice passed by Congress and vetoed by President Bill Clinton, the Nebraska law defined partial-birth abortion as "an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially delivers vaginally a living unborn child before killing the unborn child and completing the delivery." The law further defines the phrase "partially delivers vaginally a living unborn child before killing the unborn child" to mean "deliberately and intentionally delivering into the vagina a living unborn child, or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure that the person performing such procedure knows will kill the unborn child and does kill the unborn child."4 Violation of the law is a felony that carries a prison term of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $25,000, and automatic revocation of a medical license.
Dr. Leroy Carhart, a Nebraska physician who performs abortions, sued in federal court to have the law declared unconstitutional. U.S. District Court judge Richard G. Kopf reviewed abortion procedures in detail, using a drawing of female pelvic anatomy as an attachment to his opinion, before holding that the statute was unconstitutional because it endangered women's lives and health and was void for vagueness because physicians could not know what conduct it proscribed.5 The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court ruling.6
By a five-to-four vote, the Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2000, that the Nebraska law and all other laws banning partial-birth abortion are unconstitutional.* <end>
*Sandra Day O'Connor voted with the majority
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