The 2003 Virginia law to ban so-called "partial birth" abortions have been overturned again by a panel of the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a similar federal measure to take effect and sent the Virginia law back down for reconsideration but thus far, the reconsideration has yielded the same result.
The federal judicial panel's rationale for striking down the Virginia late-term abortion law was because of a slight difference between it and the federal law. Unlike the feds, the Virginia measure allowed for prosecution of doctors who intend to perform standard second-trimester abortions that become the illegal type of abortion. The panel thus classified the Virginia law again as placing an undue burden on women seeking abortion and struck it down.
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Apparently, clear instructions from the U.S. Supreme Court just will not dissuade the 4th Circuit. The basic reality is that the procedure involved is gruesome debasing of life and should not be allowed under any circumstance. Trust that the state of Virginia will appeal this thing back up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to get it upheld once and for all.
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Relevant link: Richmond Times-Dispatch
