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U.S. NEWSThursday 3 March 2016
Deeply split Supreme Court wrestles with abortion case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Wash- tect women’s health in rate of less than one-half of
ington, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, after the court heard arguments over Texas abortion clin- rules that require doctors 1 percent.
ic regulations in its biggest abortion case in nearly a quarter-century. Texas State Rep. Jodie who perform abortions to Justices Elena Kagan, So-
Laubenberg, listens, third from left. have admitting privileges nia Sotomayor and Breyer
at nearby hospitals and all pointed out that other
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) force clinics to meet hos- procedures, including li-
pital-like standards for out- posuctions, colonoscopies
MARK SHERMAN ever, Justice Anthony Ken- of pointed questions from patient surgery. The rules and dental surgeries, have
Associated Press nedy appeared to hold the liberal and conservative would cut the number of higher complication rates
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Su- outcome in his hands on a justices that suggested little abortion clinics in the state and yet can be performed
preme Court deeply split court operating with eight common ground in resolv- by three-fourths, abortion in facilities that do not meet
over abortion wrestled justices since the death of ing the clinics’ claim that providers say. the stringent standards.
Wednesday with widely Justice Antonin Scalia. the regulations are medi- The three women justices The clinics, backed by the
replicated Texas regula- The court’s most significant cally unnecessary and un- and Justice Stephen Brey- Obama administration, ar-
tions that could drastically abortion case since the constitutionally limit a wom- er repeatedly questioned gue that the regulations
cut the number of abor- early 1990s crackled with an’s right to an abortion. why Texas needed to en- already have closed half
tion clinics in the state. As intensity during 85 minutes Texas says it is trying to pro- act the 2013 law. “But what the roughly 40 clinics that
is the legitimate interest in existed before the law was
protecting their health? enacted and that only
What evidence is there about 10 clinics would re-
that under the prior law, main if it is allowed to take
the prior law was not suf- full effect.
ficiently protective of the The high court, again divid-
women’s health?” Gins- ed between liberals and
burg asked Texas Solicitor conservatives, has blocked
General Scott Keller. the surgical center require-
More than 210 women are ment from taking effect.
hospitalized annually as Solicitor General Donald
a result of complications Verrilli Jr. urged the court to
from abortions, Keller said. offer a new endorsement
Pressed by Ginsburg, Keller of the abortion right it last
acknowledged that was a affirmed in 1992. “If that
relatively small complica- right still does retain real
tion rate but said the state substance, then this law
still could act to make cannot stand. The burdens
abortion safer. With about it imposes, the obstacles,
70,000 abortions a year in are far beyond anything
Texas, that works out to a that this Court has counte-
nanced. And the justifica-
tion for it is far weaker than
anything that this Court
has countenanced,” Ver-
rilli said.
Chief Justice John Roberts
and Justice Samuel Alito
pressed the lawyer for the
clinics, Stephanie Toti, to
cite evidence showing
that the regulations have
had the drastic effect she
claimed. Both Alito and
Roberts questioned wheth-
er some clinics closed for
reasons independent of
the regulations.
“What evidence is there
that ties the closures to the
requirements?” Roberts
asked. Only Justice Clar-
ence Thomas, who broke
10 years of silence at argu-
ments on Monday, did not
ask any questions.
Even with the outspoken
abortion rights opponent
Scalia on the court, Ken-
nedy would have held the
decisive vote. He provided
the margin of victory in the
1992 case that bolstered
the abortion right the court
declared in Roe v. Wade in
1973.
