Elated and emboldened, antiabortion activists in state after state are planning to push for stringent new limits on second- and third-trimester abortions in the hope of building on their victory Wednesday in the Supreme Court.
By a 5-4 vote, the justices upheld a federal ban on a procedure that critics call "partial-birth" abortion, which involves partially delivering the fetus, then crushing its skull. The ruling included strong language that asserted the state's "legitimate, substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life."
Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate predicted that the ruling would spur a flood of legislation.
"We're moving beyond putting roadblocks in front of abortions to actually prohibiting them," said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, a national antiabortion group based in Wichita, Kan. "This swings the door wide open."
He and other strategists said they hoped to introduce legislation in a number of states that would:
* Ban all abortions of viable fetuses, unless the mother's life is endangered.
* Ban mid- and late-term abortion for fetal abnormality, such as Down syndrome or a malformed brain.
* Require doctors to tell patients in explicit detail what the abortion will involve, show them ultrasound images of the fetus and warn them that they may become suicidal after the procedure.
* Lengthen waiting periods so that women must reflect on such counseling for several days before obtaining the abortion.
It is far from certain that the Supreme Court would uphold all those proposals. But antiabortion activists clearly think momentum is on their side.
In particular, they are pleased that the court upheld an outright ban, with no exceptions, on a surgical procedure performed in the second trimester, when the fetus is too large to be evacuated through a suction tube.
For more than 30 years, the Supreme Court has required every major restriction on abortion to include an exception waiving the law if a woman's physical or emotional health is at stake.
As a result, many abortion bans have been largely symbolic. At least 40 states outlaw abortion of viable fetuses. But because of the health exception, doctors can still terminate such pregnancies if they certify that the woman suffers depression or anxiety.
Abortion opponents consider that a major loophole, leading to what they call "abortion on demand."
