Stenberg v. Carhart

530 U.S. 914 (2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Nebraska passed a law banning partial birth abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. A partial birth abortion was defined in which the person performing the abortion partially delivers vaginally a living unborn child before killing the unborn child and completing the delivery and or deliberately and intentionally delivering into the vagina a living unborn child or a substantial portion thereof, for the purpose of performing a procedure that the person performing such procedure knows will kill the unborn child and does kill the unborn child. Dr. Leroy Carhart is a Nebraska physician who performs abortions in a clinical setting. He brought this lawsuit in Federal District Court seeking a declaration that the Nebraska statute violates the Federal Constitution, and asking for an injunction forbidding its enforcement. After a trial on the merits, during which both sides presented several expert witnesses, the District Court held the statute unconstitutional. On appeal, the Eighth Circuit affirmed.