The ban on abortion at 20 weeks is unconstitutional, the judge rules on North Carolina law

March 26, 2019, 23:58 GMT

By Associated press

RALEIGH, NC – A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a North Carolina law prohibiting women from having an abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, except in case of urgent medical emergency.

US District Judge William Osteen's ruling in Greensboro on Monday gave 60 days to legislators in the member states to make its decision effective and allow them to change the restrictions on abortion or appeal its decision to a court of law. superior jurisdiction.

The United States Supreme Court has protected abortion as a constitutional right until the fetus has developed enough to live outside the womb. The judge noted that the medical expert from North Carolina had conceded that it was almost never possible before the 22nd week of gestation.

The law was challenged in 2016 shortly after legislators reduced the number of abortions after the 20th week of gestation, so that they were only allowed if the mother was at risk of dying or suffer serious and irreversible harm as a result of an urgent medical emergency.

The 2016 amendments "also required abortions after sixteen weeks, imposed important reporting requirements on abortion providers, expanded the universe of medical facilities from which information was collected, limited type of doctor likely to perform an abortion in the state and consent 24 to 72 hours, "said Osteen in his decision.

The revised law also means that abortions are no longer allowed for medical conditions causing progressive damage to health, but never reached a specific point to make them immediately necessary, Osteen said.

Although North Carolina has not sued anyone for an illegal abortion for more than 40 years, this could change in the future, Osteen said. He wrote that the "strident defense" of the lawsuit, as well as a wave of laws written the same way in Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas and other states suggest that the authorities have not disavowed the subsequent prosecution provided for by the 20-week ban.

Some states have gone further this month. Mississippi and Kentucky have banned most abortions after fetal heart rate detection, which can take up to six weeks after the onset of pregnancy. A similar bill was passed by the Senate of Georgia last week and is now going to the House to approve the changes. He is supported by Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

The lawsuit filed in North Carolina was one of the last three weeks after the election of President Donald Trump against laws defending abortion supporters, considered unconstitutional restrictions. The laws of Missouri and Alaska were also challenged at the same time by the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The trial in Alaska was dropped after the state medical committee passed a new regulation on abortions after the first trimester. In Missouri, one of the state's two abortion clinics was closed in October, after judges of the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the state could impose an obligation on doctors to enjoy admission privileges in neighboring hospitals before being able to abort.

The leading Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina did not react immediately to the decision. Spokespeople for Senate Chief Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore said they needed more time to review the decision.

An attorney from the ACLU Chapter in North Carolina stated that Osteen's decision affirmed that people have the constitutional right to make their own decisions regarding their pregnancy.

"The ban on North Carolina was written by politicians to intimidate doctors and interfere in a woman's personal medical decisions." Prosecutor Irena Como said. "Important medical decisions made at different times in a woman's pregnancy, including the opportunity to abort or not, must be left to the woman and her doctor – not to politicians . "