Resource: Stenberg v. Carhart: Women Retain Their Right to Choose

In Stenberg v. Carhart,' the Supreme Court held that a Nebraska statute banning partial birth abortions was unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision, the Court concluded that: (1) the statute lacked any exception for the preservation of the health of the mother; 2 and (2) the statute as impermissibly vague and could be interpreted to include a ban on the most commonly used second trimester abortions, thereby unduly burdening a woman's right to choose abortion. 3 For these two distinct reasons, the Nebraska statute banning partial birth abortions was rendered unconstitutional. This Note argues that the judgment of the Court was correct. 4 The Note explains why the absence of a health exception in the statute rendered the entire statute unconstitutional and discusses why the statute could be interpreted to include a ban on multiple methods of abortion. 5 This Note further argues that the Supreme Court should have declared a broader holding on this issue. 6 By first addressing the issues of the health exception and the plain language interpretation, the Court did not have the opportunity to reach the issue of whether a narrowly tailored statute prohibiting only one method of abortion, specifically the Dilation and Extraction procedure (D&X), would in itself constitute an undue burden Ultimately, this Note concludes that a ban of the D&X alone would, in fact, impose an undue burden on a woman's right to choose abortion and, therefore, should be deemed unconstitutional.