Washington, D.C. (NBC News) — Cheers erupted outside the US Supreme Court this Monday morning as a 5-3 majority struck down what may well have been the most restrictive abortion law in the nation.
This morning’s decision is being called the biggest abortion case in nearly a quarter century.
The court struck down a 2013 Texas law that made it harder for women to get an abortion in the nation’s second most populous state.
It required clinics where abortions are performed to meet the same standards as outpatient surgical centers and doctors performing the procedures were required to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
These requirements caused the state’s clinics to drop from 42 to 19.
The decision was a loss for Texas and anti-abortion forces but a decisive victory for supporters of abortion rights.
The ruling, delivered on the final decision day of this term, also affects a dozen other states with similarly restrictive abortion laws.
“Today, women lost. Today the supreme court put politics over the health and safety of women in our country,” Kristan Hawkins, President of Students For Life Of America said.
Proponents say the decision was about protecting womens’ health.
“This was going to jeopardize, not improve, women’s health and that’s been the outcome where women have lost their natural access to safe abortion care in our state,” Wendy Davis, former Texas State Senator said.
Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said the law provided few, if any, health benefits and posed a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions.
Read more: http://nbcnews.to/28Y1W6w
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