Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 5 March 2020
Continued from front who have shifted the court
The justices are weighing to the right. Even with those
a Louisiana law requiring two additions to the court,
doctors who perform abor- Roberts almost certainly
tions to have admitting holds the deciding vote.
privileges at a nearby hos- When the justices tempo-
pital. A federal judge found rarily blocked the Louisiana
that just one of Louisiana's law from taking effect a
three abortion clinics would year ago, Roberts joined
remain open if the law is al- the court's four liberal jus-
lowed to take effect. The tices to put it on hold. Ka-
federal appeals court in vanaugh and Gorsuch
New Orleans, though, up- were among the four con-
held the law, setting up the servatives who would have
Supreme Court case. allowed the law to take ef-
Justice Ruth Bader Gins- fect.
burg noted, as she had be- Those preliminary votes do
fore, that "among medical not bind the justices when
procedures, first trimester they undertake a thorough
abortion is among the saf- review of an issue, but they
est, far safer than child- often signal how a case will
birth." The abortion clinic come out.
in Shreveport at the heart In more than 14 years as Abortion rights demonstrators along with Anti-abortion demonstrators rally outside of the U.S. Su-
of the case reported trans- chief justice, Roberts has preme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
ferring just four patients to generally voted to uphold Associated Press
a hospital out of roughly abortion restrictions, includ-
70,000 it has treated over ing in the Texas case four One possible outcome is though the trial court found whether admitting privileg-
23 years, Justice Elena Ka- years ago. that Roberts and the other that doctors failed to se- es laws would still impose
gan noted. It is for now unclear wheth- conservative justices could cure admitting privileges an ""undue burden" in a
Justice Samuel Alito said er Roberts' outlook on the find a way to allow Loui- at 15 hospitals over an state that made it easy for
the clinic had once had its Louisiana case has been siana to enforce the law, 18-month period. abortion providers to get
license suspended, in 2010. affected by his new role without overruling the deci- That result would be a de- them.
Perhaps the biggest ques- as the court's swing justice sion from 2016 in which the feat for abortion rights ad- "Could an admitting privi-
tion is whether the court will since Justice Anthony Ken- court struck down a similar vocates who have argued leges law of this kind ever
overrule a 2016 decision in nedy's retirement, his con- law in Texas. One avenue that the laws are virtually in- have a valid purpose, in
which it struck down a simi- cern about the court be- raised by lawyers for the distinguishable. But it would your view?" Kavanaugh
lar law in Texas. Since then, ing perceived as a partisan state and the Trump ad- allow Roberts something of asked lawyer Julie Rikel-
Donald Trump was elected institution and his respect ministration is that the doc- a middle ground between man, representing the
president and he appoint- for a prior decision of the tors didn't try hard enough taking a big step to limit Shreveport clinic.
ed two justices, Neil Gor- court, even one he dis- to work out arrangements abortion access and reaf- Rikelman replied: "No, Your
such and Brett Kavanaugh, agreed with. with the hospitals, even firming the court's abortion Honor. The medical con-
rulings. sensus against these laws is
Roberts asked the same clear."
question, in slightly different The court also has agreed
form, to each of the three to review whether abortion
lawyers who argued before providers have the right to
the court. The court in the go into court to represent
Texas case found there was the interests of women
no benefit to the women seeking abortions. A ruling
the law was ostensibly in- in favor of the state's ar-
tended to help and struck gument that the providers
it down as an "undue bur- lack the right to sue in these
den" on women's right to circumstances, known as
an abortion in violation of third-party standing, would
the Constitution. be a devastating blow to
"I understand the idea that abortion rights advocates
the impact might be differ- since doctors and clinics,
ent in different places, but not individual women who
as far as the benefits of the want abortions, file most
law, that's going to be the challenges to abortion re-
same in each state, isn't strictions.
it?" Roberts asked Louisiana But apart from Alito, the
Solicitor General Elizabeth justices did not seem espe-
Murrill. cially interested in resolving
The Louisiana and Texas the case on the standing
situations are not identical, issue.
Murrill told the court. "The Outside the court, protest-
laws are different, the facts ers on both sides filled the
are different, the regulato- sidewalks just as they have
ry structures are different," for earlier high court cases
Murrill said. on abortion.
Roberts' inquiry seemed Inside, Justice Stephen
to dovetail with questions Breyer sought to capture
from Kavanaugh, whose searing debate over the is-
interest was in discerning sue. q