NOV. 1, 2006
UPDATED APR. 18, 2007

U.S. SUPREME COURT
Court upholds ‘partial-birth abortion’ ban

The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday (April 18, 2007) that the federal law banning the so-called “partial-birth abortion” procedure does not violate a woman’s right to an abortion. The ruling was considered a victory for abortion opponents. The procedure, usually carried out in the second or third trimester of a pregnancy, is so controversial that there is no agreement on what to call it. Opponents use the term "partial-birth" or "late-term" abortion, while medical professionals prefer the technical term "intact dilation and extraction," or D&X. The federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 banned the procedure and imposed jail terms of up to two years for doctors who use it.

The graphic nature of the procedure and its use in the later stages of a pregnancy - aspects that have been highlighted by opponents - have led to significant developments in recent years. Among them:

• Many Americans and politicians who support abortion rights or consider themselves neutral have recalibrated their positions, if only on this aspect of the issue.
• In the past decade, more than half the states have passed laws banning the procedure, and states continue to take up the issue. Congress has passed similar federal bans four times since 1995. So far, all have been invalidated by court rulings. The 2003 federal ban includes language aimed at addressing earlier judicial objections. Three federal appeals courts struck down the law, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments on two of those rulings in a case whose outcome could reverberate for years.
• Abortion rights advocates and many medical professionals have mobilized to oppose such bans, viewing these laws as impinging on a rarely used but sometimes appropriate procedure that can spare a woman serious health or future reproductive consequences.
• The Catholic Church is considered the principal religious community lobbying for a ban. With the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito Jr., the Supreme Court's nine members now include five Catholics, the most ever. Both Roberts and Alito are also viewed as social conservatives who may be sympathetic to efforts to curb abortion rights.

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Definitions
National sources
National organizations
    Opposed to abortion rights
    In favor of abortion rights
Medical sources
    Associations
    Experts
Supreme Court
    Partial birth abortion act of 2003
    Gonzales v. Carhart
    Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood
    Supreme Court background on abortion
State abortion laws
    South Dakota's abortion law
Religious groups on abortion
    Christian
    Jewish
    Muslim
    Abortion ministries
Other background

Why it matters

Religious belief drives much of the action and opinions on abortion, which continues to be one of the most emotional and divisive issues in the country. The Nov. 8 Supreme Court arguments and, later, the rulings could be critical in predicting the outlook on future abortion cases, such as a potential challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Such a challenge could come soon if South Dakota voters approve a comprehensive ban on almost all abortions on Nov. 7.

DEFINITIONS
The procedure now known as intact dilation and extraction (D&X) originated in the early 1980s as a modification of the dilation and evacuation technique (D&E) already in use. In D&E, the cervix is dilated and the fetus removed in sections with forceps and suction. In D&X, the fetus is removed without being dismembered, although the head may be punctured or crushed to allow it to pass through the cervix. According to Dr. LeRoy Carhart, one of those who sued to overturn the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, it is not uncommon for the intact fetus to pass out of the woman while the physician is attempting a D&E. Physicians maintain that they need to decide on the exact method to use based on circumstances that develop during the surgery. D&X is said to have the advantages of subjecting the woman to fewer passes of instruments into the uterus and less risk of puncture by bone.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Alan Abramowitz, Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science at Emory University in Atlanta and an expert on abortion politics. Contact 404-727-0108, polsaa@emory.edu.
• Randy Barnett is Randy E. Barnett Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at Georgetown University Read his comments on pages 4-11 of Georgetown University Law Center's Supreme Court Institute's annual press briefing in September 2006. Contact 202-662-9936.
• Susan Low Bloch is a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University. She says the case will be the first test of President Bush's two new Catholic appointees on abortion. Contact 202-662-9063, bloch@law.georgetown.edu.
• Michele Dillon is professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She wrote "The American Abortion Debate: Culture War or Normal Discourse?" for the book The American Culture Wars: Current Contests and Future Prospects (University of Virginia Press, 1996). Contact 603-862-2925, michele.dillon@unh.edu.
• Anne Hendershott is a professor of sociology at the University of San Diego. She is the author of The Politics of Abortion (Encounter Books, 2006). Contact 619-260-4023, anneh@sandiego.edu.
• Ted G. Jelen is a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has followed the role abortion politics plays in elections. He co-edited the book Abortion Politics in the United States: Studies in Public Opinion (Praeger, 1994) and co-wrote the book Between Two Absolutes: Public Opinion and the Politics of Abortion (Westview, 1992). Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.edu.
• Ellen S. Lazarus is a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and an expert in medical ethics and education and abortion politics. She is on leave for 2006-2007 but may be reached through ellen.lazarus@case.edu.
• Melody Rose is associate professor of political science and urban and public affairs at Portland State University and is currently writing a book on the politics of abortion. Contact 503-725-3137, rosem@pdx.edu.
• Laurence H. Tribe is Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University Law School. He wrote the book Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes (W.W. Norton & Co., 1992). Contact 617-495-4621, tribe@law.harvard.edu.
• James Trussell is professor of economics and public affairs and director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. He also is associate dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and has expertise on the topic of abortion. Contact 609-258-4946, trussell@princeton.edu.
• J. Matthew Wilson is a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is an expert on abortion politics. Contact 214-768-4054, jmwilson@mail.smu.edu.

National organizations

OPPOSED TO ABORTION RIGHTS

CATHOLIC
• Deirdre McQuade is director of planning and information for the Pro-Life Secretariat of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. See a 2003 statement on D&X (written by McQuade’s predecessor) posted by the bishops. Contact 202-541-3070.

OTHER CHRISTIAN
• Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and a frequent commentator on abortion and politics. Read an Aug. 15, 2006, commentary on the Nov. 8 Supreme Court arguments. Contact through Jill Martin, 615-782-8417, jmartin@erlc.com.
• William L. Saunders, Jr., is the senior fellow and director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Life and Bioethics. He was a principal drafter of FRC's "Building a Culture of Life: a Call to Respect Human Dignity in American Life." He participated in a January 2005 panel discussion on the constitutionality of “partial birth” abortion at Georgetown University Law Center. Contact 202-393-2100.
• Frederica Mathewes-Green is a columnist and Orthodox Christian who is against abortion. She is author of Real Choices: Listening to Women; Looking for Alternatives to Abortion (Conciliar Press, 1997). Contact Frederica@aol.com.
• Wendy Wright is executive vice president of Concerned Women for America. The group posts its state affiliates. Contact 202-488-7000.
• Randall Terry is founder of Operation Rescue and president of the Society for Truth and Justice. Contact Christian Communication Network, 202-546-0054, info@maranatha.tv.
• The Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth is president of the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality and editor of Lifewatch. He lives in Morehead City, N.C. Contact 252-726-2175.

OTHER
• Jay Sekulow is head of the American Center for Law and Justice, a law firm that works to end abortion. Read an Oct. 24, 2006, article on the ‘partial-birth’ abortion ban arguments. Contact 757-226-2489.
• Judie Brown is president and co-founder of American Life League in Virginia, which promotes anti-abortion legislation. Contact Amber Dolle, 703-690-2510, adolle@all.org.
• Dr. Byron C. Calhoun is president of the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He is also a member of the department of OB/Gyn, F. Edward School of Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center. Contact 616-546-2639, byron.calhoun@nw.amedd.army.mil.

IN FAVOR OF ABORTION RIGHTS

CATHOLIC
• Daniel A. Dombrowski is a professor of philosophy at the University of Seattle. He is the co-author of A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion (University of Illinois Press, 2006). Contact 206-296-5465, ddombrow@seattleu.edu.
• Frances Kissling is president of Catholics for a Free Choice. Contact 202-986-6093.

OTHER CHRISTIAN
• The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice works to preserve reproductive rights. The coalition filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down the ‘partial-birth’ abortion band; read an article. Contact its president, the Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, who founded the coalition's Black Church Initiative, through communications director Marjorie Signer, 202-628-7700 ext. 12.

OTHER
• Alexander C. Sanger, grandson of reproductive rights activist Margaret Sanger, is chairman of the International Planned Parenthood Council. He wrote Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century (Public Affairs, 2004). Contact acsanger@ippfwhr.org.
• Karen Cross is political director of the National Right to Life Committee in Washington, D.C. It posts state affiliates. Contact 202-626-8800, NRLC@nrlc.org.
• Nancy Northup is president of The Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy organization in New York City that works to “protect and advance reproductive liberty, including the rights of all women to decide whether and when to have children, to use contraception, and to safeguard their own health.” It posts court cases, legislation and resources and background on the cases the Supreme Court is about to hear. Contact 917-637-3600.
• The ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project believes reproductive freedom is a core civil liberty and works to ensure that everyone has access to reproductive health care. It lists offices across the country. Contact public education coordinator Lorraine Kenny, 212-549-2634, lkenny@aclu.org.
• Elizabeth Arndorfer is director of the Proactive Policy Institute of NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. It lists affiliates around the country and a guide to issues in each state. Contact 202-973-3032.
• Debra Ness is president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to promote quality health care for women, including access to abortion. Contact Myra Clark-Siegel, director of communications, 202-986-2600, mcs@nationalpartnership.org.
• The Alan Guttmacher Institute is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education. Press contact is Rebecca Wind, 212-248-1953, rwind@guttmacher.org.
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America fights against legislation that limits access to abortions. It lists affiliates and state centers. Contact Erin Libit, 202-973-4883.
• Ann Stone heads Republicans for Choice in Alexandria, Va., which says its aim is to remove politics from the abortion debate. Contact 703-212-0890, gop4choice@erols.com.
• Lois Backus is executive director of Medical Students for Choice, a group formed by medical students in 1993 to make sure abortion procedures are taught in medical school. Contact 510-238-5210 ext. 303, lois@ms4c.org.
• Vicki Saporta is executive director of the National Abortion Federation. Contact communications department, 202-667-5881, vsaporta@prochoice.org.
• Judy Waxman is the vice president and director of health and reproductive rights at the National Women's Law Center, which works to protect women’s reproductive rights. Contact 202-588-5180.

Medical sources

ASSOCIATIONS
National medical associations have asserted the need and the right of the physician to choose the appropriate procedure in each case based on the risks to the mother and the condition of the fetus. The American Medical Association, which represents physicians practicing in all fields, stresses that the D&X procedure should be used only rarely. Two organizations that represent physicians who use the procedure do not comment on how frequently it should be used, and they oppose the law banning it as unsafe.
• The American Medical Association has said that “The term ‘partial birth abortion’ is not a medical term.” It states that ethical concerns have been expressed about intact dilation and extraction and that therefore the procedure should only be used when “alternative procedures pose materially greater risk to the woman. The physician must, however, retain the discretion to make that judgment, acting within standards of good medical practice and in the best interest of the patient.” Contact 800-621-8335.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the 49,000-member professional association that certifies physicians in these specialties, applauded the court decisions overturning the “so-called ‘Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act’” in a 2004 statement. The association said that “‘Partial-birth abortion’ is a non-medical term apparently referring” to intact dilation and extraction, a “rare variant of a more common midterm abortion procedure know as dilation and evacuation.” Although an ACOG panel “could identify no circumstances” in which intact dilation and extraction would be “the only option to preserve the life and health of the mother,” in some cases it may be “the best and most appropriate procedure” to save a woman’s life and health. Only the doctor can make that determination, the statement says. ACOG termed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act “inappropriate, ill advised, and dangerous.” Contact the Office of Communications, 202-484-3321, communications@acog.org.
• The National Abortion Federation, the association of medical professionals who provide abortion services, says in a statement that the “so-called ‘partial-birth abortion’ bans threaten women’s health by outlawing safe abortion procedures.” The association has been a plaintiff and an amicus curiae in the “partial-birth” court cases. Contact 202-667-5881, naf@prochoice.org.
• The American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes abortion in general. It posts a statement criticizing the D&X procedure as “a medical procedure involving the purposeful convenience killing of a viable child” and argues that it is not formally recognized by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, other than as a variation of the D&E procedure. The association, based in Holland, Mich., represents more than 2,000 obstetricians, gynecologists and partners in women’s health and is a special interest group of ACOG. Contact 616-546-2630.
• The Catholic Medical Association is an organization of Catholic physicians in North America who oppose abortion. The organization is based in Needham, Mass. Dr. Thomas M. Pitre, a urologist at the NW Urological Clinic in Portland, Ore., is president. Contact through the Massachusetts office at 781-455-0259, info@cathmed.org.

EXPERTS
• Stephen T. Chasen is associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, associate attending obstetrician and gynecologist at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City and director of high-risk obstetrics at the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is lead author of “Dilation and evacuation at/or 20 weeks: comparison of operative techniques,” believed to be the only study of the safety of these techniques. It was published in the May 2004 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Contact 212-746-3052, stchaseen@med.cornell.edu.
• Dr. Phillip G. Stubblefield is professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University Medical School and co-editor of A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion (Churchill Livingstone, 1999). Contact 617-638-7850, pstubble@bu.edu.
• Dr. Maureen Paul is chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate in San Francisco and co-editor A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion (Churchill Livingstone, 1999). Contact through Erin Brooks, 415-740-4465, ebrooks@ppgg.org.
• Dr. Douglas Laube is president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison. Contact 608-287-2494, skgillis@wisc.edu.
• Dr. Lynn Borgatta is clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University Medical School and co-editor of A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion (Churchill Livingstone, 1999). She is conducting research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health on mid-term abortions. Contact 617-414-3440, borgatta@bu.edu.
• Dr. Harry Jonas is emeritus dean and special consultant to the current dean of University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School, a former president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and co-author of the American Medical Association’s “Special Communication on Late Abortion”  in the Aug. 26, 1998, Journal of the American Medical Association. Contact through dean’s office, 816-235-1803.

Supreme Court

PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION ACT OF 2003
• The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was passed by Congress with a number of Democrats joining solid Republican majorities. President Bush signed the bill into law in November 2003.
• The Library of Congress Web site has the roll call on the vote as well as the history and various versions of the bill and the text of the final law.
• The law was immediately challenged, and two federal courts deemed it unconstitutional: the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The 8th Circuit’s ruling was based largely on the law’s lack of a health exception for a mother. The 9th Circuit ruled that the law imposes “an undue burden” on a woman’s right to end her pregnancy and therefore was unconstitutional.
• Wikipedia has an article on the law that recounts the chronology of the issue. Wikipedia is a contributor-based compilation whose entries can change daily. Statements on the site should be double-checked.
• Federal Abortion Ban Trials is a Web site posted by organizations working to keep the D&X procedure legal. The site includes a timeline, links to court documents and background information.
• The Center for Reproductive Rights posts the legislative history of the ban on the D&X procedure.

GONZALES v. CARHART
• The Center for Reproductive Rights, which argued the case for the plaintiffs, posts a page with background, including links to court documents – previous rulings, amicus briefs and profiles of the plaintiffs.
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life posts a legal backgrounder on the two ‘partial-birth’ abortion cases before the Supreme Court and a page on abortion laws around the world.
• Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism posts a page of information on the case, including the attorneys, their contact information and links to court documents.

GONZALES v. PLANNED PARENTHOOD
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life posts a legal backgrounder on the two ‘partial-birth’ abortion cases before the Supreme Court and a page on abortion laws around the world.
• Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism posts a page of information on the case, including the attorneys, their contact information and links to court documents.

SUPREME COURT BACKGROUND ON ABORTION
• The anti-abortion group Americans United for Life offers a snapshot of U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving abortion.
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America, an advocate of abortion rights, provides a fact sheet on U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion and reproductive rights, 1965-2006.
• Read the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, posted by FindLaw. Links to Supreme Court and Circuit Court cases that have cited Roe v. Wade are also provided.
• A May 2002 essay by Justice Antonin Scalia, “God’s Justice and Ours,” in the journal First Things, reveals some of his thinking on legalized abortion and capital punishment.

State abortion laws

• Read Stateline.org’s June 22, 2006, update on state laws limiting abortion. Of partial-birth abortions, it says: “Since the mid 1990s, at least 26 states have enacted laws prohibiting so-called partial-birth abortion procedures, although most were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2000. The justices ruled that state laws describing partial-birth abortion, a term not used by the medical community, are so broad that they include many common abortion techniques used in as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy. The court also said that partial-birth bans are not constitutional unless they include an exception to protect a woman’s health. Of the 26, four states include health exceptions.”
• The Center for Reproductive Rights posts a 2004 report on “Partial Birth” Abortion Ban Legislation: By State." (Click on the name of the report).
• The National Conference of State Legislatures posts a chart on state abortion laws.
• The Alan Guttmacher Institute’s state center offers state-by-state information on abortion laws. The institute is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education.
• Read an Aug. 22, 2006, Stateline.org article on the increasing number of state fetal homicide laws. The article states that language giving a fetus legal status at the earliest stage of pregnancy is proliferating among the 37 states with laws making death of a fetus a separate crime. 

SOUTH DAKOTA’S ABORTION LAW
• On Nov. 7, 2006, voters will decide whether South Dakota’s new abortion law, the most restrictive in the country, will be repealed. The South Dakota Women’s Health and Human Life Protection Act was signed into law on March 6, 2006. It allows abortion only if the woman’s life is at risk, but not in cases of rape or incest, and would make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion unless the woman’s life was in danger.
• If voters decide to keep the new law, supporters plan to use it to challenge Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood says it will file a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality.
• Read an Oct. 25, 2006, USA Today story.

Religious groups on abortion

• Beliefnet.com posts a chart, “What do world religions believe about abortion?”
• ReligiousTolerance.org offers this overview of various denominations’ stands on abortion.
• The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, an interfaith coalition of 40 groups, lists official resolutions of religious groups that support the right to abortion.

CHRISTIAN
• The U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops has posted a statement explaining the Roman Catholic Church’s stand against abortion.
• The Southern Baptist Convention’s statements on abortion are posted by the Web site Johnstonsarchive.net.
• Read the United Methodist Church’s official statement on abortion.
• ReligiousTolerance.org has a listing of statements on abortion from various faith groups and other organizations.

JEWISH
• A white paper from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice discusses Jewish perspectives on abortion.
• ReligousTolerance.org summarizes Jewish beliefs and thoughts on abortion.
• A February 1999 article looks at anti-abortion Jewish views. The article appears in First Things, a journal on religion, culture and public life.

MUSLIM
• On IslamOnline.net, a Muslim religious scholar writes about Islam’s stance on abortion.
• The Web site ReligiousConsultation.org, which focuses on reproductive issues, offers this essay on Islamic thoughts on abortion.

ABORTION MINISTRIES
• The Web site AfterAbortion.org lists people and ministries around the country that offer post-abortion counseling. The group behind the site is lobbying both political parties to stop “coerced” abortions and support post-abortion therapy.

Other background

• Read an Oct. 29, 2006, USA Today story on the 'partial-birth' abortion ban.
• PollingReport.com posts public opinion polls about abortion, including the so-called “partial-birth” abortion procedure.