U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion safety law

In a 5-3 decision for Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a series of Texas abortion safety laws known collectively as HB2.

The decision, written by Justice Stephen G. Breyer, noted that the restrictions “provide few if any health benefits for women, pose a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions and constitutes a, ‘undue burden’ on their constitutional right to do so.” The concept of “undue burden” comes from and upholds the 1992 Supreme Court Case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Abortion advocates celebrated the decision, including Hillary Clinton who found a way to tie in the upcoming presidential election.

The pro-life movement quickly decried the result. Students for Life of America framed it as “Access trumps safety” and said in a statement:

Women lost today. Every time a woman seeks an abortion, she will wonder if the facility is clean. She will wonder if the abortionist has the necessary credentials to local hospitals in case of emergency. She will wonder if she is going into a facility like Kermit Gosnell’s, which had been compared to a disgusting gas station bathroom with blood on both the floor and medical instruments. It is the within the rights of the states, indeed, it is the duties of the states, to protect its citizens from predatory businesses, which is exactly what the abortion industry is. They prey on the vulnerabilities of women who are in desperate situations, placing their bottom line over the health and safety of the patients. And the U.S. Supreme Court, in efforts to put the so-called ‘right to abortion’ above everything else, just let them get away with it.