Law teacher says stage set for court's biggest abortion case in years

Published: 2006-03-07

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- With the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing in February to consider the constitutionality of a federal law banning partial-birth abortion, the stage is now set for "the most important abortion case the Supreme Court has seen in years." That's the assessment of O. Carter Snead, an associate professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School who specializes in the intersection of law, science and medicine. He joined the Notre Dame faculty this academic year after having served as general counsel for the President's Council on Bioethics. He remains a consultant to that body. The U.S. Supreme Court said Feb. 21 it will consider the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The court agreed to hear a Bush administration appeal of a U.S. appeals court ruling that the 2003 law is unconstitutional because it does not include an exception for the health of a pregnant woman.

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