Christian Attorneys Hopeful of Favorable PBA Ruling from SCOTUS
by AFA Journal
April 27, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The legal arm of the American Family Association says it will be filing a friend-of-the-court brief in a major case before the U.S. Supreme Court when it considers the issue of partial-birth abortion. In late February the high court agreed to hear the case of Gonzales v. Carhart, which will deal with the constitutionality of the federal partial-birth abortion ban. The case presents the first opportunity for the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice John Roberts, to address the issue. It will also be Justice Samuel Alito's first chance to vote on such a case. Both Roberts and Alito are conservative justices recently confirmed to the high court.
"We intend to file a friend-of-the-court brief and are hopeful that the Roberts Court will uphold the right of Congress to enact legislation outlawing this hideous practice," says Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the AFA's Center for Law & Policy (CLP). Crampton says the CLP also co-authored a brief in the last partial-birth abortion case, Stenberg v. Carhart, in which the Supreme Court struck the Nebraska statute banning the procedure, 5-4.
Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the CLP, says, "This [partial-birth procedure] constitutes nothing less than infanticide. We look forward to the new court's consideration of the case and fully expect a victory for the cause of the unborn."
Carhart is one of three cases in which a federal appeals court has ruled the federal ban unconstitutional. The other cases arose in California and New York. The challenges to President Bush's 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Act was signed into law by the president on November 5, 2003, after both chambers of Congress had passed the legislation -- in the House by a 281-142 vote, and in the Senate 64-34. The first challenge was filed moments after President Bush signed the measure.
AFA Journal is a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This article is reprinted with permission.
