Abortion: Federal court blocks N.C. ultrasound requirement

McClatchy: N.C. Judge Rejects Ultrasound Requirement In State's Abortion Law
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the most controversial part of North Carolina's abortion-restriction law, which goes into effect Wednesday: the requirement that patients be presented with a narrated ultrasound image of their womb within four hours of the operation. U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles granted a request for a preliminary injunction sought by several national and state civil rights organizations that sued late last month. Eagles upheld all other provisions of the law, at least until the lawsuit is resolved (Jarvis, 10/25).

Politico: Judge Halts Fetus 'Heartbeat' Law
A federal judge blocked parts of a controversial North Carolina law that required abortion providers to provide an ultrasound image to pregnant women for viewing, describe the fetus' features, and offer the opportunity to listen to its heartbeat, reports the AP (Mak, 10/26).

National Journal: Judge Strikes Park Of N.C. Abortion Law
A federal judge struck down part of a North Carolina abortion law on Tuesday, saying the state cannot require abortion-providers to show and discuss with pregnant women ultrasound images of the fetus. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled that doctors and others challenging the law were likely to win on their contention that the provision violated their constitutional rights. "The part of the law that the court blocked not only forces doctors to go against their medical judgment to deliver an ideological message to their patients, but also forces women to lie down and just take it," Bebe Anderson, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement (Fox, 10/25).

The New York Times: Push For 'Personhood' Amendment Represents New Tack In Abortion Fight
A constitutional amendment facing voters in Mississippi on Nov. 8, and similar initiatives brewing in half a dozen other states including Florida and Ohio, would declare a fertilized human egg to be a legal person, effectively branding abortion and some forms of birth control as murder (Eckholm 10/25).