SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. appeals courts in New York and San Francisco have declared the federal ban on so-called partial-birth abortions unconstitutional.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco both said the law should be struck down because it did not make exceptions for the health of a woman, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The rulings, likely to be appealed, came the day Samuel Alito joined the U.S. Supreme Court. Opponents to his nomination questioned his stance on abortion rights. He replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, considered the swing vote on abortion rights issues.
Congress in 2003 passed a law banning "partial-birth" abortions and included language stating the procedure is never necessary to preserve the health of a woman.
Judges on the 9th circuit wrote the law was vague and constituted an "undue burden" on the right to an abortion, the Times said. The chief judge of the 2nd Circuit, John Walker, wrote his panel was "compelled by a precedent to invalidate a statute that bans a morally repugnant practice."
