Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt. To put it simply, this may be the most important abortion case to appear before the Supreme Court since 1992’s landmark Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.
At issue is Texas law HB-2, a common-sense measure that requires two things from clinics that perform abortions.
- First, that they comply with all of the same health and safety regulations that other ambulatory surgical centers live under.
- Second, that any doctors performing abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic.
Several Texas clinics were unable to comply with these requirements, and filed suit to challenge the law’s constitutionality. Texas is simply arguing that these are reasonable health regulations that do not place an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to choose, and that they therefore comply with the precedent of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Pro-choice advocates argue that these regulations are unnecessary for women’s health and safety.
Sadly, opponents of this law are ignoring cases such as Kermit Gosnell’s clinic in Philadelphia. In that case, several born-alive children were murdered and one adult patient died due to the poor conditions of the clinic. HB-2 was specifically designed to prevent a circumstance like that from happening again.
Given the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the outcome of this case is particularly at risk. We would ask all of our supporters to pray for the Supreme Court in its deliberations.
In addition, I hope you’ll be one of the first to listen to CFC’s brand new podcast! Co-hosted by CFC’s Jonathan Keller and John Gerardi, Life • Family • Liberty will feature interviews and conversations about California’s culture, law, and politics.
This week’s episode features an interview with ADF attorney Matt Bowman about the HB-2 case at the Supreme Court, and about Matt’s ongoing litigation to challenge AB 775, the California law passed last year to require pro-life Pregnancy Care Centers to provide abortion referrals.
I hope you’ll listen in and share this new outreach tool with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for helping us spread the word!
