When it comes to personal liberty protected by the 5th Amendment and the 14th Amendment, Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) banned partial birth abortions.

Here’s the facts of Gonzales v. Carhart. In 2003, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was passed by Congress and President George Bush. The act stopped many state’s ninth month abortions, which included gruesome sucking and drilling of the insides of a fetus out through it’s head while being partially delivered. Doctors argued the act made late term abortions impossible, so they sued because it was an “undue burden” on women. Dr. Leroy Carhart was the plaintiff, and US Attorney General Gonzales was the defendant.

The decision was 5 to 4. The majority included Anthony Kennedy, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarance Thomas, and Samuel Alito. The dissent included Ruth Ginsburg, John Stevens, David Souter, and Stephen Breyer.

Gonzales v. Carhart dealt with the controversial issue of partial birth abortions. Were they constitutional? Was the nation wide ban constitutional?

Gonzales v. Carhart set the rule: The federal nationwide ban on “partial-birth abortions” is constitutional. In most places, this is the law of the land.

In the final analysis, conservatives loved this decision; however, democrats hated it. Obviously, conservatives wanted to get rid of abortion or chip away at it; and this case achieved that. Alternatively, liberals hated this decision because it setback women’s rights.