Appeals Court Upholds Louisiana's 'Admitting Privileges' Requirement For Doctors That Provide Abortions

Last year the Supreme Court ruled against a Texas law requiring doctors to have "admitting privileges" at a hospital, saying it created a substantial burden on women seeking an abortion. But a judge says differences in Texas and Louisiana hospital rules negates that worry in a different case. "Almost all Texas hospitals required that for a doctor to maintain privileges there, he or she had to admit a minimum number of patients annually," Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote in the opinion joined by Judge Edith Brown Clement. "Few Louisiana hospitals made that demand."

The Associated Press: Louisiana's 'Admitting Privileges' Abortion Law Upheld

A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that a Louisiana law requiring that abortion providers have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals does not violate women's constitutional abortion rights. The 2-1 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals notes a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down an admitting privileges law in Texas — a case known as Whole Woman's Health. But, the majority said, Louisiana's law does not impose the same "substantial burden" on women as the Texas law. The ruling reversed a Baton Rouge-based federal judge's ruling in the case and ordered the lawsuit by opponents of the law dismissed. (McGill, 9/26)

Reuters: U.S. Court Upholds Louisiana Restriction On Abortion Clinics

"There is no evidence that any of the clinics will close as a result of the Act," the appeals court said in its ruling. The Texas law, whose language is similar to the Louisiana law, led to the closure of the majority of the state's abortion clinics and the number of women forced to drive over 150 miles to seek abortions increased by 350 percent, the appeals court said. (Herskovitz, 9/27)

In more news —

Dallas Morning News: Anti-Abortion Group Was Awarded Millions But Only Helped 5 Percent Of The 70,000 It Vowed To Serve

An anti-abortion family planning group in Texas that served less than 5 percent of the clients it pledged to cover was awarded a third multimillion-dollar contract from the state. The Heidi Group served only 3,300 clients out of nearly 70,000 it told the state it would cover in fiscal year 2017, according to data from the Health and Human Services Commission that was first obtained by the Texas Observer. (Stone, 9/26)

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