US federal Judge Phyllis Hamilton in San Francisco has slammed the new Bush legislation on abortions as unconstitutional. "This court concludes that the act is unconstitutional because it poses an undue burden on a woman's ability to choose a second trimester abortion; is unconstitutionally vague; and requires a health exception,".
The new legalisation is the first major limit on abortions in the US since in 1973. The case was put forward by Planned Parenthood, an abortion clinic organization with offices across the US.
The ruling now means the US government cannot enforce the law, signed by President Bush last November.
Beth Parker the lawyer for Planned Parenthood welcomed the decision, saying it sent a "strong message" that the government "should not be intruding on very sensitive and private medical decisions".
The law had planned to ban "partial-birth abortions", which usually take place during the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy.
The term partial-birth abortion refers to a class of late term abortion of a partially vaginally-delivered fetus or fetuses.