Stenberg v. Carhart — O'Connor, J., Concurring

Summary

Justice O’Connor concurred in holding Nebraska’s partial-birth-abortion statute unconstitutional for two independent reasons: it lacked an exception for procedures necessary to preserve the mother’s health, and it prohibited the commonly used D&E procedure, creating an undue burden before viability. She emphasized that the statute’s wording and the lower courts’ construction made it broader than a ban limited to the D&X procedure. Justice Ginsburg and Justice Stevens concurred on narrower grounds, while the dissenting Justices would have upheld the statute and rejected or limited the governing abortion framework.