Abortion providers in Texas say because of Monday’s Supreme Court decision they plan to reopen clinics shut down after the state legislature passed abortion restrictions.
The Justices voted 5-3 to strike down House Bill 2 which required doctors performing abortions to have privileges at a hospital within 30 miles and for abortion clinics to meet more sophisticated standards.
Heather Busbee with NARAL-Pro Choice Texas says the ruling means Texas women seeking abortions won’t have to overcome so many obstacles.
“We know the obstacles they’ve overcome, we know they’ve been denied care. To know that those people are going to be OK, that we can start to rebuild and start to repair the damage this law has done was just overwhelming for all the rest of us,” she says.
Abortion opponent Joe Pojman with Texas Alliance for Life, believes the ruling is a setback for state’s rights.
"It means the Supreme Court, at least the majority of the Supreme Court, will not allow states to pass reasonable limits on abortions. The Supreme Court will not allow states to pass meaningful safety regulations at abortion facilities," he says.
Abortion providers say about half of the 40 abortion clinics open before restrictions were passed in 2013 have closed, but groups are exploring opportunities to reopen them.
