Yahoo – AFP, Sébastien Blanc, 27 June 2016
Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation.
The US Supreme Court has struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics (AFP Photo/Pete Marovich) |
Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation.
Crowds of
passionate activists from both sides of the debate shed tears of joy and dismay
outside the court over the closely-watched decision, which has far-reaching
implications for millions of women across the United States.
The
black-robed justices ruled by 5-3 to strike down Texas measures which activists
say have forced more than half of abortion clinics to close in the second
most-populous US state, with the conservative Anthony Kennedy siding with his four
liberal colleagues on the bench.
President
Barack Obama joined civil rights activists and women's health providers in
hailing a milestone for abortion rights, with the issue now set to be thrust
center stage in the White House race.
"Every
woman has a constitutional right to make her own reproductive choices. I'm
pleased to see the Supreme Court reaffirm that fact today," Obama tweeted.
Outside the
court, pro-choice activists rallied under placards reading "The burden is
undue," while opponents of abortion massed under the slogan: "I am
the pro-life generation."
"I'm
all about life and love and babies," said Nita Amar, a 63-year-old labor
and delivery nurse who breathed a sigh of relief at the ruling.
"But
if women lose access to abortion rights, they're going to go back to the alleys
and use coat hangers again."
But others
were distraught.
"I'm
devastated. I just cried," said 25-year-old "pro-life" activist
Sarah Manning, who came with husband Jonathan and their seven-month-old baby
Joshua. "How many more people will die because of this ruling?"
Under the
Texas legislation, doctors who perform abortions were required to have
admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and their clinics needed to meet the
standards of an ambulatory surgical center.
Justice
Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said "we conclude that neither
of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens
upon access that each imposes."
The court
ruled that both provisions placed "a substantial obstacle in the path of
women seeking a previability abortion" that "each constitutes an
undue burden on abortion access" and "each violates the Federal
Constitution."
'Disappointed'
Defenders
of the 2013 Texas law claimed that it aimed to protect women's health, but
opponents saw it as part of a nationwide drive to restrict abortion access.
The rules
meant that hundreds of thousands of women were or would be forced to seek
abortion services far from their homes and faced a weeks-long wait while
clinics struggle with strict requirements and costly upgrades.
Activists
had sounded the alarm over moves to enact similar laws in other states, that
would have received a major boost from a ruling in Texas's favor.
Leading
figures in the Republican Party -- whose presumptive nominee for president
Donald Trump has said women should be "punished" for having an
abortion -- expressed dismay.
"I'm
disappointed in the court's decision. But our fight to protect women's health
& promote life will not stop here," tweeted House Speaker Paul Ryan.
But
Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton hailed a victory for American
women -- while warning the fight was far from over with abortion "under
attack" across the United States.
"In
the first three months of 2016, states introduced more than 400 measures
restricting access to abortion," Clinton said in a statement.
"Today's decision is a reminder of how much is at stake in this
election."
Planned
Parenthood, the women's health provider, tweeted: "This is a win for
Texans & women across the country who need access to abortion," while
the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted: "Supreme Court decides that a
right without access is not a right."
Swing
vote
With the
death of stalwart conservative Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court is evenly
split between conservatives and liberals -- and the eight justices had appeared
sharply divided during hearings on the case.
The
decision ultimately hinged on Kennedy's swing vote.
Kennedy
helped draft a ruling 24 years ago that struck down state restrictions imposing
an "undue burden" on a women seeking an abortion.
During
hearings on the Texas case, Kennedy had raised a number of concerns about the
law -- noting that its restrictions and associated delays were increasing the
number of surgical abortions and decreasing those induced by medication.
The ruling
noted that: "When directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a
single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman
obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the
record of such a case."
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