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Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion clinic regulations
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The
Supreme Court ruled 5 to 3 Monday to strike down a 2013 Texas abortion
law that would have forced dozens of clinics to close. KCPQ - Seattle.
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Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion clinic regulations
Supreme Court Rules on Abortion Clinic Restrictions
KCPQ - Seattle
In a huge victory for women’s reproductive rights advocates, the Supreme Court on Monday struck down a controversial Texas law that placed heavy restrictions on the ability of women to have an abortion in the state.
The opinion was the high court’s first major opinion on abortion in nearly 10 years.
The justices voted 5-3 in favor of Texas clinics that protested the regulations as a thinly veiled attempt to make it harder for women to get an abortion in the nation’s second-most populous state.
The 2013 Texas law cut the number of abortion clinics in the state in half, to about 20. Fewer than 10 would remain if the 2013 law were allowed to take full effect, according to women's health rights advocates. It also required doctors performing abortion to have “admitting privileges,” a type of formal affiliation, at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic and requires clinics to have costly hospital-grade facilities.
Supreme Court to rule on Texas law restricting abortion clinics
Abortion clinics in the Lone Star State had challenged the law, claiming that the law placed an undue burden on women exercising their constitutional right to abortion.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, held that the regulations were medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limited a woman’s right to an abortion.
“Neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking an … abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access … and each violates the Federal Constitution,” he wrote.
“The record contains sufficient evidence that the admitting-privileges requirement led to the closure of half of Texas’ clinics, or thereabouts. Those closures meant fewer doctors, longer waiting times, and increased crowding,” he added.
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Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Breyer in the opinion.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
In the dissenting opinion, Thomas wrote that “today’s decision perpetuates the Court’s habit of applying different rules to different constitutional rights — especially the putative right to abortion.”
A pro-choice activist is seen waiting for the ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Monday.
(Pete Marovich/Getty Images)Texas had argued that its 2013 law and subsequent regulations were needed to protect women’s health.
Outside the high court, pro-choice advocates celebrated, joyously chanting and playing music.
The decision was immediately touted by presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“SCOTUS's decision is a victory for women in Texas and across America. Safe abortion should be a right — not just on paper, but in reality,” Clinton tweeted moments after the decision was released.
Women’s health rights groups also lauded the decision.
“We are thrilled that these dangerous provisions have been struck down. This is a win for women. Every person must have the right to make their own personal decisions about abortion, and we will fight like hell to ensure they do,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement.
Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center, called the decision “an enormous win for women in Texas and a powerful reaffirmation of the constitutional right of women in every state to make their own decisions about their health, families, and futures.”
“This ruling also sends a strong message to all states that erecting huge barriers to abortion is unconstitutional, plain and simple,” she added.
With News Wire Services
With Stephen Rex Brown
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