LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A pediatric surgeon testified yesterday about the medical reviews that new surgical procedures undergo, as Justice Department lawyers opened their defense of a federal ban on a type of abortion.
Dr. George Mazariegos of Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh was called to the stand for a hearing on the law signed in November by President Bush that bans partial-birth abortion.
During the medical procedure, a fetus is partially removed from the womb and its skull is punctured. The procedure generally is performed when a woman is four to six months’ pregnant.
Dr. Mazariegos was asked to summarize the need for studies of new clinical procedures.
“We are in an age that is being characterized by dramatic innovation,” he said. “It improves patient care in many cases, but the drive for innovation has included a clear need to properly document the safety of these new procedures and to properly document that rationale.”
Under cross-examination, plaintiffs’ attorney Nan Strauss asked Dr. Mazariegos whether outlawing a new procedure would allow any further study.
“No,” Dr. Mazariegos responded.
The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act has not been enforced because judges in Lincoln, New York and San Francisco agreed to hear evidence in three simultaneous, nonjury trials on whether the ban violates the Constitution.
Lawyers for a Nebraska abortion provider challenging the ban rested their case last week.
Violators could be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
The ban would be the first substantial limitation on abortion since the Supreme Court legalized it 31 years ago in the landmark case Roe v. Wade.
The Bush administration has argued that partial-birth abortion is “inhumane and gruesome” and causes the fetus pain.
Pro-choice advocates say it is sometimes the safest procedure for women.
The new law prohibits doctors from committing an “overt act” to kill a partially delivered fetus, but the plaintiffs say it could be interpreted as covering more common procedures.
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