When discussing partial birth abortion we must look to precedent in order to formulate our constitutional interpretation of the subject. Roe V. Wade is, of course, the most important case that we can refer to when dealing with the issue of abortion. Another case we can appeal to is Casey v. Planned Parenthood when ruling on this topic. These cases should give us enough logical reasoning for us to outlaw this barbaric practice. In this paper I set out to prove that a Ban on Partial Birth Abortion is not unconstitutional and should be put into law.
The first case I referred to Roe v. Wade, is the most famous of any abortion case. In this case, it was decided that abortion was, in fact, a legal practice and that prohibition of abortion was a violation of fundamental rights afforded to the individual by the Constitution. However, it should be mentioned that the logic used to come to this decision does not necessarily apply to third trimester abortions. Justice Blackmun, who presided over the case, said that the safety of the mother, prenatal fetal health issues, and the mother's privacy were the reasons why abortion as a practice was decidedly legal and Constitutional. It was decided in the case that, while in the first two trimesters the fetus does not have a right to life, in the third trimester it does have a right to life, and it is within the states" authority to protect this unborn life if it deems it just. In this third and final trimester an abortion is only reasonable when "then life of the mother herself is at stake". In the first two trimesters the states" authority is limited to a procedural role, in other words it can dictate how an abortion is carried out, but not whether or not an abortion is carried out. The third trimester, when partial birth abortions take place, are permitted to be completely regulated by the states.
In the second case that I am using as precedent, Casey v Panned Parenthood, it was decided that, while a woman has the fundamental right to an abortion, the state has the authority to regulate without "undue burden".
