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- Cc. Case Faces I Court oe ‘;: Solumbie’s abortion law. ‘cm The court will schedule ar Yaeuments next fall on an appeal gauy the Justice t. from 2 it ing last Nov. 10 by U. S, ‘aDistrict Judge Gerhard <A. $Gesell striking down the dis- tftrict’s 69-yearcld criminal sta- “ tute against egal abortion, @ The case will be decided by writen opinion of the high court, Gesell dismissed an indict- ment of Dr. Milan Vuitch, a Yugoslav immigrant who has been crusading for more lib- eral abortion policies. - Many states have laws simi- Jar to the district's, which bars fan abortion except when “ne- -cessary for the preservation of , the mother’s life or ealth.” Highest Test ‘© Review Aborf The ‘American Civil Liber. Hes Union and other abortion Jaw activists have peted in recent stepped-up efforts to @ abortion: laws. ‘The most liberal one went in- to effect March 11 in Hawaii. A number of state Jegisla- tures have pending bills simi- Tar to the one enacted in Hawaii, Others have liberal- zed their criminal codes to a leser extent since Colorado did so in 1967, judge Federal Court in Mil-. On March 6, a special three- waukee struck down part of Wisconsin's abortion statute. Lawsuits are pending in New York and New Jersey. More are planned, The ACLU, feminist groups and others argue that an abor- tions is a matter solely be- tween a woman and her phy- sician. They say that the Jaws discriminate against the poor. Earlier this term, the Su- preme Court ‘refused to re- § SATE vo te ee one Mere ’ See or oe ee oe Fa, iy 4 vv - els ie eek ae 7 view a state court decision. in California striking down the Jaw in that state. District Judge Gesell’s opin- wo jon in the Washington case [-. , said the clause “necessary: for the preservation of the moth- er’s life or health” is so vague fF . that a person accused of vio- lating it cannot properly de- f fend himself, He said it also § places on the defendant the # burden or proving that he made the right medical judg- ment, The Justice Dept. appealed §-> | on the ground that Gesell #. should not have thrown out §- yy the case before trial buth should have applied the lawk to the specific circumstancesy of Vuitch's case. The depart-}t: ment added that the doctor's} | medical judgment is not al-}... . ways an issue because physi- cians sometimes perform} "| abortions after doing nothing}. be more than establishing the f fact of pregnancy. dovade