"Partial-birth abortion" bans do not ban late abortions, nor do they merely target one procedure. The bans potentially restrict the safest and most commonly used abortion methods throughout pregnancy.

EXTREME

These bans are extreme measures that make no exceptions for serious harm to a woman's health.

• The bans criminalize most abortion procedures with severe penalties -- including imprisonment and fines -- against doctors.
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, representing over 90 percent of all ob-gyn specialists, rejects this law as "inappropriate, ill advised and dangerous."

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion," finding it an unconstitutional violation of Roe v. Wade. Writing for the majority, Justice Breyer found that the Nebraska ban violates the Supreme Court precedents Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey by failing to include an exception to preserve the health of the woman and by imposing an undue burden on a woman's ability to choose an abortion

In addition, the Court determined that the effect of the bans went well beyond prohibitions against so-called "late term" abortion, finding the ban to be so broad and vague that constitutionally protected abortion procedures performed before viability could be prohibited. The majority decision was joined by five Justices. Four separate dissenting opinions were filed by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas, demonstrating that Roe and the right to choose is imperiled.

The Court's decision will have the domino effect of rendering similar bans passed in over 30 states and Congress unconstitutional or unenforceable.