Update: Gov. Perry is set to sign HB 2 in a ceremony this morning, July 18, at 9:30 at the state capitol.
Original Post: Thus far, no lawsuit against the State of Texas has been filed -- that would only come after Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill into law -- but even after the governor signs it, Terri Burke, the executive director the ACLU of Texas, said a lawsuit wouldn't be filed until 90 days later.
"The lawyers on our staff and in our national office, all of those folks are looking at the bill -- all of the components of it, -- and what’s its really going to look like if enacted. And then from that they will develop their strategies," Burke said.
Burke said they have not made a decision on whether to pursue litigation and she is hoping they can solve the problem legislatively.
Janet Crepps is the chief legal counsel for national office of the Center for Reproductive Rights and said a court case would boil down to a few key challenges.
"Ultimately what the court is going to be looking at is: Are these regulations imposing a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions in Texas? We think if there’s a challenge that the evidence is going to show absolutely that there’s a substantial obstacle," Crepps said.
Crepps said the admitting privilege requirement would be one of the main components of any suit because it is unnecessary and the Texas Hospital Association has told lawmakers that admitting privileges would not be extended to abortion doctors, thus making it virtually impossible to meet that requirement.
Crepps said any lawsuit would be based on two Supreme Court rulings: Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
