Media Release 04.18.07

Supreme Court Ruling Threatens Health Care
Law Threatens Women’s Health, Opens Door for Legal Interventions in Health Care

CHAMPAIGN- The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday released a ruling upholding a federal abortion ban in its entirety.  The law, passed with the court’s ruling in Gonzales v Planned Parenthood, prohibits a surgical procedure used to perform some abortions.  This procedure can be the safest option available for some women undergoing an abortion.

“As a health care provider, our primary concern is always the health and safety of our patients.  This ruling threatens the health of women and limits a doctor’s ability to provide the best and safest care possible,” said Karla Peterson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of East Central Illinois (PPECI).  PPECI is a leading provider of reproductive health care.  The organization offers abortion services up to 14 weeks at its Champaign facility.  These services will not be affected by the ban.

When President Bush signed the federal abortion ban in 2003, PPFA, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG), the Center for Reproductive Rights, the National Abortion Federation and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged it in federal district courts around the country.  Leading ob/gyns at major medical institutions testified against the ban because it would prevent them from providing the care that is best to protect their patients' health.  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Nurses Association and many other medical groups oppose the federal ban.  Until now, every court that examined the ban struck it down because, among other things, it fails to protect women's health.

In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the ruling "cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court."  Ginsberg is the only female currently on the bench.

Just seven years ago, the Supreme Court had struck down a very similar abortion ban enacted in Nebraska because it did not have a health exception, with Justice O'Connor providing the critical vote that upheld protections for women's health and safety.  Since then, Justice O’Connor retired and was replaced on the court by Justice Alito.  These changes in the composition of the Court opened the door for Wednesday’s 5-4 decision in favor of upholding the ban.

“This is a major setback for women’s health.  It allows politicians to make decisions that should be made by doctors and opens the door for all kinds of interference in the doctor-patient relationship,” said Peterson. 

# # #

Healthy Families. Healthy communities. Plan on it.

Planned Parenthood of East Central Illinois (PPECI) is the largest provider of reproductive health care in downstate Illinois.  More than 14,000 men, women and teens are served by PPECI each year at health centers in Bloomington, Champaign, Clinton, Effingham, Lincoln and Ottawa.  Planned Parenthood of East Central Illinois has been providing affordable and confidential health care, education and advocacy in the area since 1940.  Learn more about us on the web at http://www.ppeci.org/.