Bishops' Official Commends Justice Department
Appeal Of Partial-Birth Abortion Rulings
WASHINGTON (September 29, 2004)
This week the U.S. Department of Justice appealed rulings against the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act from federal courts in the Southern District of
New York and Nebraska.
"We commend the U.S. Department of Justice for its vigorous defense of
the ban on partial-birth abortion," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Esq.,
spokesperson for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat
for Pro-Life Activities. "There is no place in a civilized society for
this cruel and inhumane practice."
Judge Richard Kopf in Nebraska ruled against the Act earlier this month in a
lengthy opinion citing testimony that babies are alive during a partial-birth
abortion, that the baby's heart can be seen beating before the head is
punctured or crushed, and that partial-birth abortion is "excruciatingly
painful for a fetus."
New York Judge Richard Casey called partial-birth abortion "a gruesome,
brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized medical procedure" but ruled against
the Act under his reading of prior Supreme Court cases stemming from Roe v.
Wade – in particular, the case of Stenberg v. Carhart. Casey's opinion
stated rather bluntly that he "does not believe that many of Plaintiffs'
purported reasons for why [partial-birth abortion] is medically necessary are
credible." Nevertheless, according to Stenberg, "when there is… a
division of medical opinion" about the relative safety of an abortion
method, "a health exception is constitutionally required."
"Judge Casey's ruling supports the conclusion that the Supreme Court in
Stenberg created an ‘abortionist's veto' against a ban on partial-birth
abortion," said Ruse.
"We are hopeful that the ban on partial-birth abortion ultimately will be
upheld," said Ruse. "But no matter how the legal questions are
finally resolved, these trials will have accomplished something extremely
significant: they will have gotten the abortion industry on the record, under
oath, admitting the horrifying truth about abortion."
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Office of Communications
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000
September 30, 2004 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops