SAN FRANCISCO – The Partial-Birth Abortion Act trials are still ongoing in three different states. The judges, who began hearing the cases March 29, must decide whether the ban violates the Constitution. April 16, arguments ended in San Francisco. The New York case is continuing, and closing arguments in the Nebraska case are set for June. The issue is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The federal lawsuit in San Francisco was brought by abortion providers seeking to permanently block the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, which President Bush signed last year. The act is considered as the first substantial federal limitation on abortion since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion thirty years ago.
