(Photo : Courtesy of Roman Boed/Flickr/CC)
The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear a case regarding a Texas abortion law, which would determine the limits of a state government's power in regulating abortion clinics. This marks the first case that the Supreme Court is hearing related to abortion since 2007.
The Texas statute in question (House Bill 2) became law in 2013 and requires that doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. Abortion clinics must also meet the same standards as "ambulatory surgical centers."
"The common-sense measures Texas has put in place elevate the standard of care and protect the health of Texas women," stated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He argues that such stricter standards for abortion doctors and hospitals ensure the safety of the women who receive the procedures.
Opponents of Texas' law, however, argues that it forces the closure of numerous abortion clinics that cannot afford to "upgrade" their facilities to hospital standards, and makes circumstances more difficult for women to access the reproductive services.
"There's an undue burden when women have to drive 250 miles one way, take off two days of work and get child care in order to have a procedure that is protected by the Constitution," Amy Hagstrom Miller, the owner of four abortion clinics and one of the plaintiffs in this case, told CNN.
Out of 41 abortion clinics that were in Texas before H.B. 2 was passed, 19 remain, and opponents say that only 10 would be available in the state if the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of the law.
The case was heard in a federal appeals court, which unanimously ruled in favor of keeping H.B. 2 in place. Opponents of the bill appealed to the Supreme Court in the end of June, at which the high court placed a stay in the lower court's ruling. The stay would remain in place until the Supreme Court makes its decision regarding the case.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case, Whole Woman's Health v. Cole, early next year, and the decision is likely to be made in the spring or summer of 2016.
