Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 4 February 2019

Changed Supreme Court weighing Louisiana abortion clinic law

By MARK SHERMAN Abortion opponents have
Associated Press been awaiting that signal
WASHINGTON (AP) — The since Trump’s election, par-
outcome of a fight over a ticularly after he promised
Louisiana law regulating during the 2016 campaign
abortion providers could to appoint “pro-life jus-
signal whether a fortified tices.”
conservative majority on Justice Neil Gorsuch,
the Supreme Court is will- Trump’s first appointee,
ing to cut back on abortion took the seat of the late
rights. Justice Antonin Scalia, who
The high court is expected opposed abortion rights.
to decide in the next few The president’s second
days whether the state can pick, Justice Brett Kavana-
begin enforcing a law re- ugh, replaced Kennedy.
quiring doctors who work at In 2000, the Supreme Court
abortion clinics to have ad- struck down Nebraska’s
mitting privileges at a near- ban on the procedure by a
by hospital. It was passed in 5-4 vote. Seven years later,
2014, but has never taken n this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group the court upheld a fed-
effect. portrait to include a new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in eral partial-birth abortion
The Supreme Court struck Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence ban by an identical vote.
down a similar law in Texas Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg The makeup of the court
three years ago. But the and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, had changed, with John
court’s lineup has changed Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Roberts replacing William
since then. Two appointees Kavanaugh. Rehnquist as chief justice
Associated Press and, crucially, Alito taking
of President Donald Trump Sandra Day O’Connor’s
have joined the bench place on the bench.
and Justice Anthony Ken- O’Connor voted to strike
nedy has retired. Kennedy down the state law; Alito
voted to strike down the voted to uphold the fed-
Texas law. eral ban.
The law was to have taken In the majority opinion
effect on Monday, but Jus- that upheld the federal
tice Samuel Alito issued a law, Kennedy wrote that
brief order last week that the law did not impose
pushed back the effective an “undue burden” on a
date at least to Thursday woman’s right to an abor-
because, Alito said, the tion, the standard laid out
justices needed more time in the 1992 abortion-rights
to consider an emergen- ruling, and that it was suf-
cy appeal from Louisiana ficiently different from the
abortion providers. Alito Nebraska law that had
handles those appeals been struck down in 2000,
from Louisiana. even though neither law
The issue before the court contained a provision al-
is whether the law may be lowing the method to be
enforced even as appeals used if a doctor decided it
A DELICIOUS over its validity continue, so was necessary to preserve
the impending vote may the mother’s health.
NEW BEGINNING not be the justices’ last Rachel Morrison, litigation
word on the matter.
counsel for the anti-abor-
IS ON THE HORIZON. But it is expected to be tion group Americans Unit-
a window on the court’s ed for Life, said the court
views of abortion rights.
also could find differences
A vote to allow the law to between Texas and Louisi-
THE FEAST OF GOOD FORTUNE CHINESE NEW YEAR BUFFET take effect “will be a really ana in the situations con-

DATE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2019 good sign that the modi- fronting women seeking
fied Court will not police abortions in the two states.
TIME: 5:30 - 11PM states or lower courts’ com- The court’s ruling invalidat-
$65 PER PERSON pliance with” the Texas de- ing the Texas law “does
cision or an earlier ruling not mean that all admit-
in 1992 that reaffirmed a ting privileges laws are per
woman’s right to an abor- se unconstitutional or that
tion that the court first an- there is sufficient evidence
nounced in the Roe v. that Louisiana’s law will
Wade decision in 1973, Uni- lead to the closure of a
versity of California, Irvine large number of abortion
law professor Leah Litman clinics in Louisiana,” Mor-
wrote on the progressive rison wrote on her group’s
Take Care blog. website.q