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 At least 12 Texas abortion clinics have been closed since October,
after a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
allowed the law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have
admitting privileges at a nearby hospital to take effect.
No more than 20 clinics were able to meet the new standard, and some
women must travel hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion. All of
the facilities that remain open are in metropolitan areas, with none
in the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico.
The Supreme Court's decision Tuesday isn't the final say on the
restriction. But it means that the law will remain in effect while
Planned Parenthood's lawsuit challenging it continues. The 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals plans to have a hearing in January on the
lawsuit.
Texas is the nation's second-most populous state, and an average of
80,000 abortions are performed there each year.
The Supreme Court's decision came in an appeal of a decision from a
5th Circuit panel that said Texas could enforce the law at least
until the panel can hold a hearing in January. The 5th Circuit's
ruling came after U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel blocked the
provision, saying it served no medical purpose and created an
illegal barrier for women seeking an abortion.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in a sharply divided 5-4
opinion that abortion clinics had failed to prove that the 5th
Circuit acted improperly. Writing for the minority, Justice Stephen
Breyer said the better course would have been to block the law at
least until the three-judge appeals panel issued its final ruling
because some women will be unable to obtain abortions.
The five justices and three appeals court judges who sided with
Texas are all Republican appointees. The four dissenting justices
are Democratic appointees. Yeakel, who initially blocked the
provision, is a Republican appointee.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry praised the Supreme Court action.
"This is good news both for the unborn and for the women of Texas,
who are now better protected from shoddy abortion providers
operating in dangerous conditions. As always, Texas will continue
doing everything we can to protect the culture of life in our
state," Perry said.
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Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of
America, said the groups will continue the legal fight.
"This law is blocking women in Texas from getting a safe and legal
medical procedure that has been their constitutionally protected
right for 40 years. This is outrageous and unacceptable — and also
demonstrates why we need stronger federal protections for women's
health. Your rights and your ability to make your own medical
decisions should not depend on your ZIP code," Richards said.
The Texas law on admitting privileges was part of a package of
abortion restrictions that the GOP-controlled Legislature passed
over the summer. The restrictions, which are among the toughest in
the nation, gained notoriety when Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis
launched a nearly 13-hour filibuster against them in June.
Although several conservative states in recent months have approved
broad abortion limits, the Texas ones were particularly divisive
because of the number of clinics affected and the distance some
women would have to travel to get an abortion.
The other states that are enforcing laws on admitting privileges are
Tennessee and Utah. Courts have temporarily halted similar laws in
Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
[Associated
Press; CHRIS TOMLINSON]
Associated Press writer
Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/cltomlinson.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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