Attorney general will seek hearing on abortion ban ruling

Associated Press
Published: May 30, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The attorney general said Friday he will seek a full hearing before a federal appeals court on a Virginia law banning a form of late-term abortion ruled unconstitutional by a three-judge panel.

A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that the Virginia abortion law is unconstitutional, despite the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a similar federal ban.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell said he will ask the full court on Monday to review the decision.

``It is my belief that Virginia’s partial-birth abortion ban, passed overwhelmingly by the people’s elected representatives in the General Assembly, is constitutional,‘’ McDonnell said in a statement announcing his decision.

He also cited the Supreme Court’s decision as part of the basis of his appeal.

In its ruling May 20 ruling, the appeals court cited a key difference between the federal and state bans.

While the federal law protects doctors who set out to perform a legal abortion that by accident becomes the banned procedure, the Virginia statute provides no such protection.

Judge M. Blane Michael wrote in the majority opinion that the Virginia law ``imposes an undue burden on a woman’s right to obtain an abortion.‘’

The court is expected to rule within two months on the request for a full review, McDonnell said.