Washington D.C., Jun 2, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is encouraging an appeal of the ruling made June 1 by a federal court judge in California, declaring the ban on partial-birth abortions unconstitutional.
The federal judge in the Northern District of California declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in violation of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in the United States more than 30 years ago. The lawsuit was brought by Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
"Once again a federal judge has declared that Roe v. Wade stands for the right to kill a child in the process of being born," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Esq., of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.
To state that access to partial-birth abortions is a fundamental constitutional right “makes a mockery of the Constitution,” said Ruse. "We encourage and anticipate an appeal of this ruling.”