In order to pre-emptively answer some questions that have already sprung up over AIM (see, AIM is good for something!) let me post this information about the legality of third trimester abortions:

"Forty states and the District of Columbia prohibit abortions after the fetus becomes viable (able to live outside the mother on its own); this is generally after the 27th week of pregnancy. Most states do allow exceptions to be made in cases of serious risk to the physical or mental health of the mother, as well as in cases where the fetus is dead, has serious defects that cannot be repaired with surgery, or has such severe abnormalities that it would die shortly after birth. Very few clinics offer abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy, so most third-trimester abortions are performed in hospitals. (Source: American Civil Liberties Union: Reproductive Rights.)"

So yes, third-trimester abortion is illegal in many states, but apparently *not* all states. And there is no federal law against it either, which is why it's up to the states in the first place to legislate. So while California may be completely consistent within its own legal framework, it doesn't change the fact that in some cases it's legal to "kill" an unborn, third-trimester fetus and in some cases it's not. I still see an extreme double-standard here.

-- Dave