The Supreme Court today ruled that the restrictions placed by Texas on clinics providing health services for women, including abortion, were medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limited a woman's access to abortion. The 5 to 3 ruling is the most significant in years on the issue of abortion, and will affect the status of other states' laws that have attempted to circumvent Roe v. Wade by placing hospital-style architectural and medical requirements on clinics, forcing them to close or incur significant, unnecessary costs to comply. In Texas, up to 75% of clinics providing abortion would have been forced to close under the state's restrictions. The restrictions were crafted by right-wing anti-choice groups and have been passed by other states with Republican state legislatures hoping to make legal abortions nearly impossible to obtain. Think Progress has a detailed article on just how big a blow to the anti-choice forces this is.
The stakes in the 2016 elections at state and Federal levels are high, but perhaps none higher than determining the President who will make the next appointments to the Supreme Court. But there are Senate and House seats, and state-wide races for Governor and legislators which if they go Republican, will continue to hold back progress on this and so many other issues.
BONUS:
BONUS:
SCOTUS's decision is a victory for women in Texas and across America. Safe abortion should be a right—not just on paper, but in reality. -H— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 27, 2016
(image: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque. Pro-choice demonstrators celebrate today's Court ruling.)
