Battle isn't over.

Byline: The Register-Guard

When U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled last week that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was unconstitutional, both sides won.

Abortion rights activists won in court, as they should have. Theirs was the stronger legal case. Judge Hamilton's 117-page ruling scorches the deliberate vagueness and ambiguity of the statute's language and definitions, starting right at the title of the 2003 legislation.

The term "partial-birth abortion" is a political invention of abortion opponents that has ``little if any medical significance,'' Hamilton wrote. The law as written is so loose with its language that it would criminalize common abortion procedures and potentially restrict options of doctors treating miscarriages.

Hamilton also correctly rebuffed Congress' blatant effort to finesse previous Supreme Court objections to partial-birth abortion bans that included no exception for protecting maternal health. The 2003 statute gave wannabe doctors in Congress a platform to declare, in their considered medical judgment, that the partial-birth procedure is never medically necessary to protect the health of the mother. No way that's constitutional, Hamilton said.

While Planned Parenthood celebrated its legal victory in California, abortion opponents nationwide know they are winning in the court of public opinion. Surveys confirm that almost two-thirds of U.S. adults support a ban on the late-term abortion procedure known as intact dilation and extraction, or "partial-birth" abortion. Public support for legal abortion plummets from 61 percent if it is performed in the first three months of a woman's pregnancy to only 15 percent in the second three months.

A core goal of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was to codify the emotional language of abortion opponents and overcome the clinical detachment of medical terms such as dilation and extraction. The closer congressional abortion opponents could bring the image of partial-birth abortion to infanticide, the better. The act is filled with references to the "dead infant," "partially delivered living fetus" and "baby's head."

As a bonus, Judge Hamilton's ruling hands social conservatives Exhibit A in the case against "activist judges" thwarting the will of the people. President Bush's re-election campaign was quick to strike, releasing a statement that said:

"[The] tragic ruling upholding partial-birth abortion shows why America needs judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. ... John Kerry's judicial nominees would similarly frustrate the people's will and allow this grotesque procedure to continue."

Additional challenges to the constitutionality of the new law are pending in Nebraska and New York, making it likely that the Supreme Court will be asked to settle the matter. Abortion opponents believe time is on their side.

They may be right. Changes in the composition of the Supreme Court could occur at any time, with three justices rumored to be considering retirement.

Abortion rights advocates shouldn't waste much time celebrating Judge Hamilton's ruling. They need to recognize that their opponents have gotten much smarter about how to frame the attack on abortion rights so it resonates with mainstream America. If changing a few words here and there will result in an abortion ban that passes constitutional muster, expect revised legislation to be introduced at the first opportunity.

But the issue is far from settled. Public support remains overwhelming for women who sought abortions because they had been raped, their health was endangered or there was a strong chance of a serious birth defect in the baby.

The Supreme Court has already insisted that maternal health be taken into account in any legislation restricting access to abortion. Somewhere between the extremes of banning or allowing all abortions, there is a legal abortion option that protects reproductive choice for women in the majority of important circumstances. It's time for abortion rights advocates to begin championing that option and educating the public about its importance.