Charleston WV- On Friday, July 7, 2000, U.S. District Judge
Joseph R. Goodwin issued a permanent injunction that prohibits enforcement
of West Virginia's ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion," finding it
unconstitutional based on a recent Supreme Court ruling in Stenberg v.
Carhart that struck down a similar law in Nebraska. The West Virginia
ban has been blocked since June 1998, when Judge Goodwin issued a
temporary restraining order in response to arguments made by the
plaintiffs in Daniel v. Underwood that the language in the law was
so broad that it would prohibit most pre-viability abortions and subject
doctors to criminal prosecution for providing the safest medical care.
Additionally, plaintiffs contended that the ban lacked adequate exceptions
to protect women's health. The 1998 West Virginia law made performance of
the procedure a felony, subject to imprisonment for two years and fines up
to $50,000.
Judge Goodwin's order cited reasons similar to the Supreme Court's 5-4
decision on June 28 which said that Nebraska's law violated a woman's
right under the federal constitution to choose abortion. The Court ruled
that the law was written too broadly and could be interpreted to outlaw
the most common second-trimester abortion method, placing an undue burden
on a woman seeking a legal abortion. It also failed to include an
exception allowing the procedure to protect a woman's health.
The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Stenberg v. Carhart exposed
these bans for what they are: extreme and deceptive attempts to outlaw
abortion---even at the earliest stage of pregnancy -- that jeopardize
women's health. As a result of the Court's decision, bans passed in 30
other states are likely to be found unconstitutional or unenforceable.
Plaintiffs in Daniel v. Underwood include Women's Health Center
of West Virginia, Inc. and Kanawha Surgicenter on behalf of their
patients, themselves, and their staffs. Plaintiffs were represented by
Bonnie Scott Jones and Simon Heller of the Center for Reproductive Law and
Policy.
