ABA Family Legal Guide

Health-Care Law

Specific Issues in Health Care

Abortion

What are partial-birth abortions?

The biggest debate today is over so-called partial-birth abortions. State laws usually define a partial-birth abortion as any abortion in which the doctor "partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery." These bans generally apply to nonviable as well as viable fetuses.

In almost every state that has passed a law banning partial-birth abortions, courts have found the laws to be unconstitutional. These laws often impose an undue burden on a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy and place the health of women in danger. Most fail to include adequate exceptions for abortions when the woman's life or health require terminating the pregnancy.

Bills have been introduced repeatedly in Congress to make partial-birth abortions illegal on a national level. At the time of this writing, none of the laws has passed.