9th Circuit: Idaho’s 20 Week Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho’s 20 week abortion ban on Friday.
An Idaho law that prohibits abortions of fetuses 20 or more weeks after fertilization is unconstitutional, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday.
The ruling, from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, also struck down an Idaho law that required all second-trimester abortions to occur in a hospital.
Bans on abortion after 20 weeks have been passed in 12 U.S. states since 2010, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights advocacy group. The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure this month that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks. The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, and Democratic President Barack Obama opposes it.
The challenge was set off by Ms. Jennie McCormack, who self-induced an abortion by ingesting a pack of pills. This violated the “all second trimester abortions must be in a hospital” and “no abortions after 20 weeks” provisions of the bills. A local prosecutor tried to have her tried, but the judge dismissed that case, and in response Ms. McCormack filed a civil lawsuit challenging the laws.
No word on if the State will take it higher. Given the current abysmal state of the Supremes, the GOP is chomping at the bit to get this case (or one like it) to their desks.