Today, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal abortion ban, also known as the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003." The two Bush-appointed Justices joined Justices Kennedy, Scalia and Thomas to create a new majority that has sacrificed women's health on the altar of politics. Ruling that protecting women's health is no longer of paramount concern, the Supreme Court held that politicians can override doctors' medical judgments €“ and that women must wait until their health is in immediate danger before they can seek the protection of the federal courts.
As the sole remaining woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spotlights what is at stake in this "alarming" decision: "legal challenges to undue restrictions on abortion procedures . . . center on a woman's autonomy to determine her life's course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature."
"The Court's decision is part of a larger trend to promote outdated stereotypes of women's abilities and roles that harm women's health while pretending to €protect' women and girls," said Kathy Rodgers, President of Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest women's rights legal group. Other recent examples:
- In order to shield women from any "regret" they might feel over their decision to have an abortion, the Court has held that Congress can eliminate methods that their doctors believe are the best medical choice for them.
- To "protect" girls and young women from receiving comprehensive education about sexuality, the Bush Administration has spent hundreds of millions to promote abstinence-only education €“ and to ensure that they don't learn about condoms and other forms of contraception.
- To promote its far right agenda, the Administration has provided millions of dollars to fake abortion clinics nationwide that seek to stop women from acting on their decisions.
Click here to read the Supreme Court opinion.
