Big Surprise

A federal appeals court declared the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional Tuesday, saying the measure is vague and lacks an exception for cases in which a woman's health is at stake.

The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal appeals court in the country to hold the law to be unconstitutional.

President Bush signed the abortion ban in 2003, but it was not enforced because of legal challenges in several states.

Federal judges in New York and Nebraska also have ruled the ban unconstitutional. The Nebraska ruling was upheld in July by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This ruling is as shocking as a movie star's fifth divorce. The abortion movement and truth are as well-acquainted as activist judges and the Constitution. What an openly disengenuous tactic.

How is "a woman's health" defined? The pro-deathers clarify it as anything that might cause reservations about giving birth. From ingrown toenails to mild constipation, from a narcotic-induced depression to vague feelings of mental discomfort--there is nothing under the sun that cannot be worked below this absurd heading.

To my knowledge, the Bush administration has made little effort in combating this atrocity; just sign the bill into law, then down the memory hole. Superficial concern is what's important, here, not results.