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Originally Posted by agzg
I'm under the understanding that the current legal precedent is set by Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
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Yes, at least that's what it was when I was in law school. Back to Ghostwriter's states rights comment--Even in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the anti-choice side wasn't framed as a "states rights" or 10th Amendement issue, it was that the state has a compelling interest in preserving life. Or at least that's the argument that carried the day.
Casey stood for a number of things, but the main theme is that once the fetus becomes viable outside of the womb, the states have the power to forbid abortion completely, except in cases where the health of the mother [this is not defined at all, and is arguably the exception which swallows the rule] is at risk.
Getting a little more "meta," the principles at play are the rights of the mother, i.e., the fundamental liberty interest she has in her privacy and the right to an abortion. When someone has a fundamental liberty interest, the state has to have a compelling state interest to override it. The Court found that once the fetus becomes viable outside the womb, there is in fact a compelling state interest. Not because of the 10th Amendment, but because the state has a compelling interest in protecting life.