A federal appeals court has upheld Virginia's ban on partial birth abortion.
     
The court ruled that the ban does not hinder a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy by more conventional means.
    
The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 6-5 decision that the 2003 law also makes clear what type of abortion is banned.
    
Thirty-one states have banned partial birth abortion, but courts have blocked 15 of those bans.