BACKGROUND: Texas Abortion Law Faces Hurdle in Courts

According to the Guttmacher Institutei, states have enacted 43 provisions that restrict access to abortion from January to June of this year - more than in all of 2012. Though Texas House Bill 2 will be signed by Governor Rick Perry in the coming days, it remains questionable if not highly unlikely that the courts will ever allow this bill to take effect in the state of Texas. The Texas law contains many of the separate provisions from other states rolled into one. Below is an overview of four components of Texas law that have already been struck down in courts.

Federal Courts Rule Against Components of Texas Abortion Law

Provision of House Bill 2
20 Week Provision Outlaw abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exception for victims of rape or incest and very narrow exceptions to save a womans life or health and for fatal fetal anomaly

Federal Court Ruling

Citing a "long line of invariant precedent, the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that Arizonas 20week ban deprives the women to whom it applies of the ultimate decision to terminate their pregnancies prior to fetal viability. (May 21, 2013)ii Similar rulings have come from federal courts in Arkansasiii & Georgiaiv.

Admitting Privileges Require doctors to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of a facility where an abortion is performed

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that there is a troubling lack of justification for the hospital admitting privileges requirement and that the record to date strongly supports a finding that no medical purpose is served by this requirement.v Similar rulings exist from federal courts in Alabamavi, Mississippivii, & Kansasviii.

Facility Regulations Create burdensome regulations on the physical facilities (width of hallways, for example) that would effectively shut down 37 of Texas 42 facilities that provide abortions.

A federal judge in Alabama ruled that facilities that close due to the restrictions would cause a permanent destabilizing effect on the provision of abortions in this State.ix These laws, known as TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) often go in conjunction with admitting privilege provisions.x Federal judges in Idahoxi, Ohioxii, and Oklahomaxiii as well as a North Dakota state courtxiv have ruled the law unconstitutional. SCOTUS is reviewing the Oklahoma law, and asking the state to answer specific questions as to its impact.xv

RU-486 Restrictions Restrict when and how a woman can take medicine such as RU-486, which is currently used in the first seven weeks of a womans pregnancy.

Sources
i

State-Level Assault on Abortion Rights Continues in First Half of 2013. Guttmacher Institute, 7/8/13. http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2013/07/08/index.html
ii

Isaacson v. Horne. Opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 5/21/13. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/05/21/12-16670.pdf
iii

Federal judge allows challenge to Arkansas abortion law to proceed. JURIST, 5/17/13. http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/federal-judge-allows-challenge-to-arkansas-abortion-law-to-proceed.php
iv

Georgia state judge enjoins post-20 week abortion ban. JURIST, 12/26/12. http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/12/georgia-state-judge-enjoins-post-20-week-abortion-ban.php
v

Judge temporarily blocks new Wisconsin abortion law. CBS News, 7/9/13. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301201_162-57592819/judge-temporarily-blocks-new-wisconsin-abortion-law/
vi

As Texas Moves To Shut Down Abortion Clinics, A Similar Law Has Just Been Blocked In Alabama . Think Progress, 7/1/13. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/07/01/2239261/alabama-abortion-restrictions-blocked/
vii

Jackson Womens Health Organization v. Currier. United States District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 4/15/13. https://www.motherjones.com/files/ms_decision.pdf
viii

Kansas Judge Blocks Abortion Clinic Regs. Mother Jones, 7/1/11. http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/07/kansas-judge-blocks-abortion-clinic-regs
ix

As Texas Moves To Shut Down Abortion Clinics, A Similar Law Has Just Been Blocked In Alabama. Think Progress, 7/1/13. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/07/01/2239261/alabama-abortion-restrictions-blocked/
x

TRAP Laws Gain Political Traction While Abortion Clinicsand the Women They ServePay the Price. Guttmacher Policy Review, Spring 2013, Volume 16, Number 2. Guttmacher Institute. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/16/2/gpr160207.html
xi

Federal judge blocks Idaho RU-486 regulations as likely unconstitutional. LifeSiteNews.com, 9/29/11. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/federal-judge-blocks-idaho-ru-486-regulations-as-likely-unconstitutional/
xii

Judge: Ohio's RU-486 law too restrictive Associated Press, accessed through Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/24/04. http://www.enquirer.com/midday/09/09242004_News_mday_wwwru486.html
xiii

Oklahoma judge strikes down law restricting use of abortion drugs. JURIST, 5/15/12. http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/oklahoma-judge-strikes-down-law-restricting-use-of-abortion-drugs.php
xiv

ND Abortion Clinic Files Federal Legal Challenge. Associated Press, 6/25/13. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ndabortion-clinic-files-federal-legal-challenge-0
xv

SCOTUS to examine Oklahoma abortion-inducing drug law. KOCO News, 6/27/13. http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomanews/around-oklahoma/scotus-to-examine-oklahoma-abortioninducingdrug-law/-/12530084/20737328/-/skpi4nz/-/index.html