Court Limits Bans on Late-Term Abortions

A federal appeals court sharply narrowed the authority of states and Congress to ban abortions late in pregnancy, ruling that such bans must allow women to end pregnancies to avoid serious mental or physical health risks. In the first such decision on appeal, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati struck down a 1995 Ohio law that bars doctors from using an abortion method that has sparked vehement opposition--the “dilation and extraction” procedure. Under the procedure, a doctor collapses the skull of a fully formed fetus to complete the abortion. Congress has twice sought to curb the procedure; President Clinton has vetoed both bills. His second veto awaits an override attempt by Congress.