Partial-birth abortion [letter]

In his article on partial birth abortion Annas fails to note the true legal basis for laws banning partial-birth abortion. Large majorities of 2 Congresses and the legislatures of 28 states have passed laws to ban the procedure. With the targeted procedure of intact dilation and extraction as commonly used much of the childs body is outside of the mothers body. Legally the bans are based upon the position that states have a heightened compelling interest in protecting the partially born child and that the child also has recognizable rights and interests as an emerging constitutional person. The abortion right dissipates as the child emerges from the mother. Annas agrees with Bopp and Cook that the state has a strong interest in protecting the partially born child but that fails to resolve the issue. The US Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade ruled that even after a fetus becomes viable physicians must be able to use their professional judgement to preserve the life or health of the mother. The Court has repeatedly held that the state cannot favor the life and health of a fetus over the life and health of the pregnant woman even in the case of the partially born child.