June 1 (Bloomberg) -- A ban on ``partial-birth'' abortions signed into law last year by President George W. Bush was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in San Francisco.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said the law is vague and places improper restrictions on a woman's ability to ``choose a second-trimester abortion.'' Today's ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which supports abortion rights.

The ruling is the first that would permanently block the law, which was challenged in three courts last year. Hamilton and judges in New York and Nebraska had issued temporary restraining orders within days of the law's passage. Hamilton said the Partial- Birth Abortion Act of 2003 was similar to a Nebraska law the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2000.

``Despite the linguistic differences between the Nebraska statute'' rejected by the Supreme Court and the new law, the federal legislation ``nevertheless poses an undue burden on a woman's right to choose an abortion,'' wrote Hamilton, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Jail Terms

The law makes it a crime for doctors to perform the procedure abortion opponents call ``partial-birth abortion,'' and physicians refer to as intact dilation and extraction. As many as 95 percent of abortions performed in the second trimester, which lasts from the 14th to the 27th week of pregnancy, use the dilation and extraction method.

The statute provides fines and jail terms of as much as two years. The American Medical Association, which consists of about 250,000 physicians and medical students, initially endorsed the law, then withdrew its support because of the criminal penalties.

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said, ``we believe it is an abhorrent procedure, and we will vigorously defend the law.''

The Justice Department is reviewing the order, said spokeswoman Monica Goodling. The Nebraska and New York cases are still in progress.

2 Percent of Abortions

Fewer than 2 percent of the 1.31 million abortions in the U.S. in 2000 were late-term abortions, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which supports a woman's right to choose an abortion.

Lawyers for the Justice Department argued that the dilation and extraction method is a dangerous procedure that is less safe than any other second-trimester abortion method, is never medically necessary and causes ``extreme pain'' to the fetus. Planned Parenthood said no studies show the method is unsafe and it's the best option for some women or certain fetuses.

``Today's ruling confirms that the federal ban, like the Nebraska ban struck down by the Supreme Court just four years ago, dangerously prohibits abortions in the second trimester that doctors say are safe and among the best to protect women's health,'' said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican and heart-transplant surgeon, said he hopes the ruling will be overturned.

``As a physician, I can say this procedure is shameful,'' he said. ``I think it is outside the bounds of medical practice.''

The case is: Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. Ashcroft, 03-4872, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joyzelle Davis in Los Angeles joydavis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 1, 2004 16:34 EDT