Arizona 20-Week Abortion Ban Upheld By Judge

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/30/arizona-20-week-abortion-ban_n_1720803.html

A federal judge in Arizona decided on Monday to allow a law that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy to go into effect on August 2. The law, which Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed in April, includes a narrow exception in cases where the life of the mother is at risk, but no exception for non-fatal threats to the woman's health.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the law in court on behalf of three Arizona physicians, argued that it violates the 1992 Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that says states cannot ban abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb. Fetuses are considered viable around 22 or 23 weeks of gestation.

U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg sided with the state and denied the ACLU's request to block the law, ruling that the 20-week ban is just a restriction on abortion, rather than a full ban, because it includes an exception for the life of the mother.