The July 8 ruling by a federal appeals court that the ban on partial-birth abortion is unconstitutional "makes a mockery of the U.S. Constitution," said the head of the U.S. bishops' pro-life office.

"There is no place in a civilized society for this cruel and dangerous practice," said Gail Quinn, executive director of the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, in a July 8 statement. "We look forward to today's decision being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Quinn was commenting on a decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in St. Louis, that the national law was unconstitutional because it did not include an exception for the health of the mother. The law does contain an exception for the life of the mother.

She said the 8th Circuit decision relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's Stenberg vs. Carhart decision in 2000 rejecting a partial-birth ban in Nebraska, and failed to take into account the American Medical Association's stand that partial-birth abortion is never medically necessary.

"It makes no sense to say one must kill a child who is more than half born to advance the mother's health instead of simply completing a live delivery," Quinn said, noting that the Supreme Court's Doe vs. Bolton ruling defines "health" as all factors relating to a woman's "well-being."

Writing for the 8th Circuit, Judge Kermit Bye said, "When 'substantial medical authority' supports the necessity of a procedure in some instances, a health exception is constitutionally required."

"In effect, we believe when a lack of consensus exists in the medical community, the Constitution requires legislatures to err on the side of protecting women's health by including a health exception," Bye added.

---CNS