Guam’s Tough Law on Abortion Is Struck Down by Federal Judge
A federal judge today struck down Guam’s virtual ban on abortion as unconstitutional. The measure was the nation’s most restrictive abortion law.
U.S. District Judge Alex Munson declared that Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision establishing the right to an abortion, “applied with equal force and effect to Guam.”
The law, signed by Gov. Joseph Ada on March 19, banned abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger. But Munson on March 23 blocked its enforcement while he weighed a challenge to the law from abortion-rights forces.
The law carried a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for obtaining an illegal abortion or soliciting a woman to have an abortion. Performing an illegal abortion was punishable by up to five years in prison.
Two days after the law went into effect, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer was charged with violating the measure by publicly encouraging women to seek abortions in Hawaii. The charges later were dropped; prosecutors said the lawsuit challenging the law was a higher priority.
The governor said he did not know whether he would appeal today’s ruling.
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