Court to consider Arizona's 20-week abortion ban
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Web Producer: Mekita Rivas
PHOENIX (AP) - Federal appeals judges in San Francisco will hear arguments today on Arizona's ban on abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
A federal judge had refused to block the ban in June, ruling that it doesn't impose a substantial obstacle to being able to have abortions because women still have time to make decisions.
U.S. District Judge James Teilborg said the ban is only a regulation, not a flat prohibition. But opponents contend it's unconstitutional because some women couldn't have abortions before viability.
Nine other states also have 20-week bans, but the Arizona ban is the earliest because it uses a different starting point to calculate a fetus' age.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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