Nation IN BRIEF : OHIO : Judge Bans Law on Late-Term Abortions

A judge has ordered a permanent ban on a state law restricting late-term abortions and a procedure that involves collapsing the fetus’ skull. U.S. District Judge Walter Rice’s ruling came two months after he had temporarily blocked enforcement of the law right before it was to go into effect. The state would have been the first in the nation to ban the “dilation and extraction” procedure. A similar ban is pending in Congress. Rice said the procedure appears to pose less risk to the mother than other operations. It involves pulling the fetus partially out of the uterus feet first. The skull is then punctured and the brain suctioned out, causing the skull to collapse.