A third of the abortion clinics currently operating in the state of Texas may begin to shut down as early as today after a federal appeals court ruled that most of the state’s new abortion restrictions can take effect.
Breitbart is reporting on the dramatic outcome of a ruling by a panel of judges at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that abortion restrictions, including those requiring doctors to have admitting privileges in nearby hospitals, can take effect.
The decision overturned an earlier ruling by District Judge Lee Yeakel which delayed the October 29 implementation of the law. This means many clinics in the state will not be able to continue operating.
The panel decided that even though requiring doctors to have admitting privileges could increase the cost of accessing an abortion provider and decrease the number of physicians available to perform abortions, the Supreme Court has ruled that having “the incidental effect of making it more difficult or more expensive to procure an abortion cannot be enough to invalidate” a law that serves a valid purpose, “one not designed to strike at the right itself.”
However, the panel did leave in place a portion of Judge Yeakel’s order that prevents the state from enforcing U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol for abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who filed an emergency appeal to the 5th Circuit the day of Yeakel’s ruling, applauded the decision.
“This unanimous decision is a vindication of the careful deliberation by the Texas Legislature to craft a law to protect the health and safety of Texas women,” Abbott, a Republican who is running for governor, said in a written statement.
As a result, a third of the state’s 32 abortion clinics may be forced to close with at least 12 being unable to perform procedures as early as last Friday.
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said that the appeals court decision means that “abortion will no longer be available in vast stretches of Texas.”
“This fight is far from over,” she said in a statement. “This restriction clearly violates Texas women’s constitutional rights by drastically reducing access to safe and legal abortion statewide.”
The appeals court order is temporary until it can hold a complete hearing which is expected to take place sometime in January.
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