Federal Appeals Court Upholds Controversial Texas Abortion Restrictions
The appeals court judges on Tuesday upheld a Texas law requiring nearly all of the state's facilities that perform abortions to meet hospital-like standards.
The Texas Tribune:
Appeals Court Upholds Texas' Abortion Restrictions
In a blow to the state's abortion providers, federal appeals judges on Tuesday upheld a state law requiring nearly all Texas facilities that perform the procedure to meet hospital-like standards. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state's requirement that abortion clinics meet ambulatory surgical center standards — which include minimum sizes for rooms and doorways, pipelines for anesthesia and other infrastructure — did not impose an undue burden on a "large fraction" of Texas women seeking abortions. (Ura, 6/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Strict Texas Abortion Law
A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law that requires abortion clinics to qualify as “ambulatory surgical centers,” a decision opponents say will shut down most clinics in the state. The plaintiffs, a group of abortion clinics and doctors, argued that the 2013 law unconstitutionally restricts the right to obtain an abortion. (Campoy, 6/9)
USA Today:
Federal Appeals Court Backs Strict Texas Abortion Law
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans came in a lawsuit challenging requirements that clinics providing abortions provide hospital-level operating room standards. The court said clinics failed to show that many women would be unconstitutionally burdened by the law. The Center for Reproductive Rights said it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices had put the 2013 law on hold last year, sending it back to the appeals court for review. (Bacon, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Controversial Texas Abortion Law Upheld By Federal Appeals Court
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel struck down the surgical center requirements statewide and the admitting privileges requirement for two facilities last summer, but Texas Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott, who now serves as the state's governor, filed an immediate appeal. In its Tuesday ruling, the 5th Circuit overturned Yeakel's ruling, but made an exception for a facility in McAllen, Texas, on the grounds that is the only abortion facility in the area. (Queally, 6/9)
NPR:
U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Texas Abortion Restrictions
A U.S. appeals court upheld sweeping abortion restrictions in Texas on Tuesday, putting many of the state's clinics at risk of closure. (Totenberg, 6/9)
The Associated Press:
Court Upholds Key Parts Of Texas' Strict Anti-Abortion Law
Owners of traditional abortion clinics, which resemble doctor's offices more than hospitals, say they would be forced to close because the new rules demand millions of dollars in upgrades they can't afford. That would mark the second large wave of closures in as many years in Texas, which had 41 abortion clinics in 2012, before other new restrictions took effect that require doctor admitting privileges. (6/9)
Bloomberg:
Texas Allowed By Judges To Close Almost All Abortion Clinics
Women’s rights advocates vowed to seek an emergency order from the U.S. Supreme Court to keep the clinics open if they can’t persuade the New Orleans-based appeals court to postpone enforcement of the restrictions. The clinics may be forced to close within a month if the Texas law is allowed to take effect. (Blumberg, 6/9)
The Texas Tribune:
Interactive Map: Find Texas' Remaining Abortion Clinics
Abortion clinics across the state have closed as a result of strict regulations on the procedure approved in 2013 by the Republican-led Texas Legislature. In August 2013, before the rules took effect, there were 40 licensed abortion providers in Texas. By October 2014, the number of licensed abortion facilities able to perform the procedure had dropped to eight. On Tuesday, a ruling by the three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the state to continue enforcing the requirements that doctors performing abortions have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of a clinic, and that clinics meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. (Aaronson, 6/9)
