With yesterday's ruling in Whole Woman's Health v. Cole by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, women's reproductive rights suffered a significant setback. The three Dumbya Bush appointees agreed with anti-choice zealots that a clinic providing women's reproductive care -- including birth control and abortions -- can be forced to adhere to hospital-style requirements from architecture and physical plant specifications to requiring doctors have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital ("nearby" could mean 100 miles or more in Texas).
The case concerns a challenge Texas' HB2 legislation, which was crafted to open a loophole in Roe v. Wade and other decisions involving women's reproductive rights. On the surface, the legislation cynically purports to make abortions safer, when in fact it would shut down all but 7 out of 40 licensed clinics in Texas. It's no coincidence that there was a similar effort in Virginia in 2013 to push restrictions on women's clinics, a fight which continues. In the age of ALEC -- the right-wing legislation mill -- it's not surprising that a coordinated nationwide effort is underway to reverse Roe v. Wade by subterfuge, just like the same reactionary forces are working with Rethuglican state legislatures to suppress voting rights and roll back environmental laws. This despite more and more Americans who identify as "pro-choice."
Next stop, the Supreme Court, which won't be friendly turf for pro-choice advocates.
(photo: B. Cronin, AFP/Getty Images)
