RICHMOND (AP) -- A sharply divided federal appeals court has upheld Virginia's ban on a type of late-term abortion.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 6-5 ruling Wednesday that the 2003 law is constitutional. The decision reverses a 2-1 panel ruling striking down the law, which bans a procedure in which the fetus is partially delivered and then destroyed.

Virginia's law is similar to a federal statute banning a procedure that abortion opponents call "partial-birth abortion."

Attorney General Bill Mims said he’s pleased with Wednesday’s ruling.

“Attorneys General Kilgore, Jagdmann, McDonnell and I have defended this statute over the last six years. This is a law that passed both houses of the General Assembly with bi-partisan support. While we anticipate that the U.S. Supreme Court may be asked to review the decision, I am confident that the Supreme Court ultimately will uphold the law.”

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)