San Francisco Judge Blocks
Bush Ban on Late Abortions

AP 6nov03

SAN FRANCISCO—A federal judge in California on Thursday blocked the government's new ban on certain late-term abortions -- the third such ruling since President Bush signed the law.

The decision affects doctors who work at 900 Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. Coupled with a New York judge's earlier ruling, it will cover a majority of all abortion providers in the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton called the new law "an undue burden on a woman's right to choose."

Judge Hamilton's ruling came hours after a judge in New York barred enforcement of the ban against members of the National Abortion Federation, which includes about half of the U.S.'s abortion doctors.

U.S. District Judge Richard Casey granted a request by the National Abortion Federation and seven doctors to block enforcement of the ban. The ruling applies only to the plaintiffs, but it could have broad application. The federation says its members perform half of the abortions done nationwide.