In Richmond, the same three-judge panel that overturned the law in 2005 repeated its 2-1 decision Tuesday, saying the only way a doctor could be certain he or she would not be prosecuted under the law was to stop performing abortions.
"The Virginia act imposes an undue burden upon a woman's right to choose a previability second-trimester abortion," Judge Blane Michael wrote. He was joined by Judge Dianna Gribbon Motz.
Dissenting Judge Paul Niemeyer accused his colleagues of exploiting minor differences between Virginia's act and the federal ban to find reasons to reject it.
