The Supreme Court and Abortion: The Implications of Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)
LIFE AND LEARNING XVII: THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH UNIVERSITY FACULTY FOR LIFE CONFERENCE 103-128 (J. Koterski ed., 2008)
26 Pages Posted: 28 Jun 2012
Date Written: June 1, 2007
Abstract
This paper considers the Supreme Court’s decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003. First, I will consider the Court’s prior treatment of abortion from Roe v. Wade through Stenberg v. Carhart, the Court’s decision in 2000 that invalidated Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abortion. Second, I will consider the Congressional treatment of the issue of partialbirth abortion, which resulted in the enactment of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Third, I will briefly describe the lower court decisions that all held the Act unconstitutional. Fourth, I will discuss the Court’s April 18, 2007 decision in Gonzales v. Carhart. Fifth, I will offer some general observations about the impact that this decision will have. I believe that the Court’s decision in Gonzales v. Carhart will help to bring us closer to the day when Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will be overruled.
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