Mark Warner signed an amicus brief in the Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt case, urging the Supreme Court to reject Texas’ “effort to undermine a woman’s constitutionally protected right to make her own health care choices”.
Advertisement
President Barack Obama joined civil rights activists and women’s health providers in hailing a milestone for abortion rights, with the issue now set to be thrust center stage in the White House race.
The latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion could have long lasting effects including in IL. And could serve to deter other states from passing so-called “clinic shutdown” laws.
The Court’s decision endangers women and removes valuable safety precautions, and is an erosion of states’ rights.
Rutledge also criticized the ruling, which struck down Texas’ requirement that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and that clinics meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery.
Supporters of the law argued it raised the level of care for women. Opponents of the laws said abortion already is a very safe procedure, and contended the real motive of the laws was to reduce women’s access to abortion.
They are similar to the abortion regulations in Texas that were struck down Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday’s ruling is likely to remove an ongoing threat to the only abortion clinic still operating in Mississippi.
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling was a regrettable step backwards in the fight to protect the well-being of mothers and their unborn across our Nation.
Planned Parenthood, the women’s health provider, tweeted: “This is a win for Texans & women across the country who need access to abortion”.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said state attorneys on Monday were reviewing the Supreme Court decision, but that another legal battle appears unnecessary.
The laws in Texas, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Alabama are among the numerous measures enacted in conservative USA states that impose a variety of restrictions on abortion. Some states now require a 72-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion.
For example, more than a dozen states have passed laws banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage.
In the MS case, a federal district court judge issued a temporary injunction in 2012 blocking the law because it would have forced women seeking abortions to go out of state.
Advertisement
Prior to the enactment of HB2, there were more than 40 licensed abortion facilities in Texas, and the number dropped significantly in the wake of the restrictions in the case.
