Abortion Contortions

On Tuesday the Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska law outlawing “partial-birth” abortion. Last fall, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick described the oral arguments heard by the justices. And in 1998, Dr. Atul Gawande argued that “partial-birth” abortion is no more grisly than other, more common types of late-term abortion. For background on the abortion wars, read William Saletan’s ” Frame Game” on Roe vs. Wade’s 25^th anniversary, Franklin Foer’s ” Gist” on fetal viability, and Margaret Talbot’s review of Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars.