Federal judge strikes down Idaho ban on late-term abortions

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Federal judge strikes down Idaho ban on late-term abortions

By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON, Idaho | Thu Mar 7, 2013 1:28am EST

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a 2011 Idaho law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, in a decision believed to mark the first time a court has ruled that such a measure was unconstitutional.

Idaho is one of at least eight states that have enacted late-term abortion prohibitions in recent years based on controversial medical research suggesting that a fetus feels pain starting at 20 weeks of gestation.

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Idaho's measure made it a felony to perform an abortion after 20 weeks unless there was proof the pregnancy endangered the life of the mother.

Wednesday's decision by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill stemmed from one of the first federal lawsuits challenging such statutes, and it was believed to mark the first time a court has struck down a fetal-pain abortion ban on its merits.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/07/us-usa-abortion-idaho-idUSBRE92603L20130307

[ananda]

1. Will a judge strike down Arkansas' 12-week ban?

Or will SCOTUS have to finally look at choice rights.