Supreme Court Ruling Keeps Texas Abortion Clinics Open
Supreme Court Ruling Keeps Texas Abortion Clinics Open
The US Supreme Court issued an order last night blocking enforcement of two provisions of a restrictive Texas anti-abortion law that had forced all but eight of the state's abortion clinics to close. The decision immediately allows 13 clinics that had been shuttered earlier this month by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reopen.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had previously ruled that Texas could begin enforcing the admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements of its new TRAP law, passed last year as HB2, against clinics in West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. The decision caused 13 clinics to close overnight and would have forced nearly 1 million women of reproductive age in Texas to travel more than 300 miles round-trip to the nearest clinic, preventing access to abortion for many.
Discussing the impact of the Fifth Circuit decision with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman's Health, one of the plaintiffs challenging the Texas law, said that she was forced to close her clinic in McAllen, Texas. When staff explained to patients that they could no longer access abortion care at the clinic, but would have to travel north to obtain abortion services, Hagstrom Miller explained, "There were quite a few women who said I can't travel north and will take matters into my own hands.
Hagstrom Miller told Maddow that she was "very delighted" by the Supreme Court's order. She added, "It's delightful to be able to say yes to women in the Rio Grande Valley who have been calling us."
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http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?id=15256
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