Gonzales v. Carhart
Carhart, a doctor who performs late term abortions, sued the Attorney General of the United States for an injunction against the enforcement of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The law had an exception that allowed late term abortions when the woman’s life, but not health, was in danger.
A district court granted the injunction and declared the law unconstitutional, although it explicitly did not state whether the law was unconstitutional on its face or as applied. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the district court’s ruling, holding that the law was facially unconstitutional because the Supreme Court case Stenberg v. Carhart created a per se constitutional rule that all abortion bans need to have an exception for the health of the woman. The court interpreted Stenberg to require a health exception for any procedure that “substantial medical authority” supported in at least some situations.
Question Presented:
Whether, notwithstanding Congress's determination that a health exception was unnecessary to preserve the health of the mother, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is invalid because it lacks a health exception or is otherwise unconstitutional on its face.
