Carhart Panel Discussion

Video and transcript of a panel discussion about the significance of the SCOTUS decision in Gonzales vs Carhart, the "PBA ban" allowing the feds to ban the Procedure Formerly Known as Prince.

After Gonzales v. Carhart: The Future of Abortion Jurisprudence
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Washington, D.C.

On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down a major ruling on abortion rights, upholding the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The 5-4 decision in the case, Gonzales v. Carhart, upheld for the first time a law that bans a specific abortion method, and it did so even though the law does not contain an exception for cases that endanger a woman's health. The decision is likely to prompt new efforts to enact abortion restrictions and thus trigger more litigation. What does the decision portend for the legislatures and for the courts as new restrictions are enacted and challenged, and the cases wend their way up to the Supreme Court?

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life invited a distinguished panel of experts to discuss the recent ruling and examine how it may affect abortion jurisprudence and the abortion debate in the future.

Speakers:
Eve Gartner, Senior Staff Attorney, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Marcia Greenberger, Founder and Co-President, National Women's Law Center

Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Senior Fellow for Legal Studies, Family Research Council

M. Edward Whelan III, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center

I have to go to work, so I'll not comment right now. Maybe I'll just pitch in when the discussion gets started.

HT: JJ