In a 5-3 ruling, a short-handed U.S. Supreme Court decided that the Texas law placed a quote, “undue burden” on a woman’s right to seek an abortion.
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Attorney General Loretta Lynch also said that the Justice Department, which filed a brief in support of the clinics, “will continue fighting against laws like this one”.
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down parts of a restrictive Texas law that could have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to about 10 from what was once a high of roughly 40. Abortion doctors would need hospital admitting privileges or clinics would have to have a transfer agreement with a hospital close by.
The court rejected appeals on Tuesday from Wisconsin and MS over laws that would require that abortion providers have admitting privileges to a hospital near their clinic. “Women have had to make severe sacrifices – financial and health wise – that’s why this ruling is such a victory for women”.
It’s being called the most important ruling on abortion rights since Roe v. Wade in 1973. “The decision erodes states’ lawmaking authority to safeguard the health and safety of women and subjects more innocent life to being lost”, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said in a statement. “On the contrary, determined to strike down two provisions of a new Texas abortion statute in all of their applications, the Court simply disregards basic rules that apply in all other cases”.
“It certainly paves the way for us to evaluate and look at what might happen with other states and their laws to see if whether they could be repealed”. The restrictions had the effect of shutting down the majority of abortion providers in the Lone Star State.
The next president is will nominate at least one, but potentially more justices to the Supreme Court potentially shaping the debate for decades.
In May, Oklahoma’s Republican-led legislature passed a bill calling for prison terms of up the three years for doctors who performed abortions, but the state’s Republican governor vetoed it.
“This is a huge moment for us”, Anna V. Eskamani, with Planned Parenthood, said. Proponents of the law argued it would improve patient care and safety, though abortion rights groups contended the law made it almost impossible to operate a clinic in Texas.
First, the Texas provisions required that abortion clinics be licensed as ambulatory care facilities with all the amenities of a surgical center. The ruling will prevent the threatened shutdown of clinics in some states that have been operating in a legal limbo, with Texas-style laws on temporary hold.
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Breyer said the appeals court’s approach was at odds with the proper application of the undue-burden standard.
