Appeals court refuses rehearing of Virginia late-term abortion case News
Appeals court refuses rehearing of Virginia late-term abortion case

[JURIST] The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday refused a request by Virginia Attorney General Judy Jagdmann [official website] to have the full court rehear a June ruling by a three-judge panel [JURIST report; PDF ruling] striking down Virginia's law against late-term abortions because the law lacked an exception based on the health of the mother. The Court cited the 2000 US Supreme Court ruling in Stenberg v. Carhart [opinion] striking down a Nebraska "partial-birth abortion" ban on similar grounds. In a statement [press release] afterwards, Jagdmann said:

We are disappointed by the Court's decision in this serious matter. We note Judge Niemeyer's well-reasoned dissent [in the original panel decision] clearly appreciates that Virginia’s statute is distinct and distinguishable from any previously considered by the United States Supreme Court. Our office is carefully reviewing the opinion and reviewing our options.
AP has more