A US federal judge has blocked a new anti-abortion law from being enforced on some doctors and their affiliates soon after it was signed by US President George W. Bush.
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Mr Bush: legislation blocked
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Citing constitutional concerns, Nebraska US District Judge Richard Kopf issued a temporary restraining order barring US Attorney John Ashcroft and the Justice Department from enforcing the new law banning so-called partial birth abortions against four doctors who practice in or are affiliated with practices in more than a dozen states.
The injunction also protects anyone the doctors work withor to whom they refer patients.
The ruling was handed down less than an hour after Mr Bushformally approved the law, which makes it illegal for a doctorto intentionally kill a fetus that has been partiallydelivered, a practice referred to by abortion opponents as a"partial-birth abortion".
Judge Kopf said the law did not provide an exception to protect the health of the mother and thus appeared unconstitutional.
In drafting the law, the U.S. Congress determined that such an exception was not necessary for health reasons but did include a more narrow one to save a woman's life.
If the ban survives this and other court challenges, itwould be the first federal limit on abortion since the 1973 Roevs WadeSupreme Court ruling backing abortion rights.
"The Justice Department vigorously opposed the injunctionand will continue to devote all resources necessary to defend the law," the department said in a statement in response to Judge Kopf's ruling.
Under the law, a doctor could face up to two years inprison as well as fines and civil lawsuits for performing the specified procedure.
Along with the legal action filed October 31st in Nebraska, abortionrights groups also filed lawsuits in California and New Yorkseeking to temporarily block and ultimately overturn the law.