Ohio Judge Blocks Late-Term Abortion Ban

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the state from enforcing a ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure.

U.S. District Judge Walter Rice said the law is unconstitutional because it would not allow a doctor to perform the procedure in cases where substantial medical evidence shows that it may be safer for some patients.

He cited last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a similar ban in Nebraska. Rice had already temporarily blocked enforcement of the law last fall.

Joe Case, spokesman for Ohio Atty. Gen. Betty Montgomery, said the state’s lawyers were studying the ruling to determine whether to file an appeal.

Federal judges in other states also have recently overturned bans on what opponents call partial-birth abortions. In April, the ban in Michigan was overturned by a federal judge and the bans in Illinois and Wisconsin were overturned by a federal appeals court.

In its 5-4 ruling on the Nebraska law, the Supreme Court said in June 2000 that it violated women’s constitutional rights by imposing an “undue burden” on women who decide to end their pregnancies.

The procedure, called dilation and extraction, 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 and easing passage through the birth canal.

The case hinged on whether the technique is safer than others and whether barring it would limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

“There really is no credible evidence that a woman would ever need to have a partial-birth abortion, that it would be a safer method for her,” Denise Mackura, executive director of the anti-abortion group Ohio Right to Life, said after Rice’s ruling.