Media Center: Federal Abortion Ban

On April 18, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on certain abortions.  The federal abortion ban does not allow an exception when a woman’s health is in danger, despite more than three decades of Supreme Court rulings that required such an exception.  PRCH physician members spoke out against this ban many times, from its original introduction in Congress through the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision.

What Our Doctors Are Saying

“For decades, we’ve seen state and federal laws chip away at the right to abortion. Now, with one blunt stroke, the Roberts court has demolished a cornerstone of abortion rights in America: the health exception. As much as I deplored previous abortion laws, I knew I could count on the legal system to protect women’s health. Not any more.”
—PRCH member Chris Estes, MD, MPH, New York Daily News

Resources

• A brief history of the federal abortion ban
• An overview of abortion in the United States
• Three physicians speak about patients who could be affected by the ban

Press Releases

• Physicians Denounce Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion 
• Physicians Call on Supreme Court to Protect Women’s Health