Update: June 11, 2015
Fifth Circuit Court Upholds Devastating Abortion Restrictions in Texas
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on June 9, 2015 that medically unnecessary restrictions that could severely restrict Texas women’s access to safe, legal abortion are constitutional.
Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund had this to say on the ruling:
"We have witnessed firsthand the terrible impact these restrictions have on women across Texas, who cannot get to a medical provider and are forced to delay getting care. Politicians are not medical experts, yet politicians have written these restrictions with the end goal of cutting off access to safe, legal abortion.
One thing will never change: Planned Parenthood will be here for the women who rely on us in the Lone Star state and across the country, no matter what."
A few months ago, we showed you a map of the impact of dangerous laws in the south on access to safe and legal abortion.
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, ruled that H.B. 2 can go into effect immediately. As a result, 80% of abortion providers in Texas have had to close overnight, and many women are now hundreds of miles from a provider. These repeated rulings from this court have meant that abortion is now out of reach for women in vast stretches of Texas. Only a few years ago, there were more than 40 health centers that provided safe, legal abortion in Texas — today, there are fewer than 10 — in a state with more than 5 million women of reproductive age.
Tags: Abortion, Texas, State Fights, TRAP, HB 2, GIF, Map, Admitting Privileges