Texas' Abortion Law Is Headed to the U.S. Supreme Court

By Eric Nicholson Mon., Nov. 4 2013 at 10:03 AM

The aftermath of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling last week reinstating the requirement that doctors performing abortions in Texas have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic was swift and sweeping. By the next morning, a third of the state's abortion clinics had closed or stopped performing the procedure.

That much was predictable. So was this morning's announcement by Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards.

"We're asking the Supreme Court to stop Texas' dangerous and extreme law from taking effect because your rights -- your very ability to make your own medical decisions -- should not depend on your ZIP code," she said in a news release.

Specifically, Planned Parenthood and its co-plaintiff, the Center for Reproductive Rights, have filed an emergency application asking the nation's highest court to stay the implementation of the Fifth Circuit's ruling. (Their other option was to appeal for an en banc hearing in front of the entire 5th Circuit, rather than the three-judge panel, but they apparently didn't like their chances.)

In order to prevail, Planned Parenthood and CRR will have to clear a couple of hurdles. Under Supreme Court rules, their application for emergency review has to go through Justice Antonin Scalia, a staunch abortion opponent who oversees the 5th Circuit. Scalia can dismiss or otherwise act on it by himself, or he can refer it to the full court, though Planned Parenthood would be able to appeal a dismissal with a justice of their choice.

In order to grant a stay, there has to be a good chance that the court will agree to review the case, that a majority of justices will overturn the lower court's ruling, and that the appellant will be irreparably harmed if no stay is granted.

That first check box is all but guaranteed. As Guttmacher Institute policy analyst Elizabeth Nash told USA Today last week, the fact that the 5th Circuit allowed Texas' law to be implemented, which was not the case when similar measures were challenged in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Alabama and Mississippi, virtually guarantees it.

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everlastingphelps topcommenter

I'll call it now -- cert denied.

ScottsMerkin topcommenter

Pleas bring Anna back to write these. I cant even rate them anymore, they are so bad

Myrna.Minkoff-Katz topcommenter

With the ancient, rotted-out, and senile right wing assholes on the Supreme Court ready to die soon, we finally will get rid of this "states' rights" horseshit once and for all and treat all American citizens equally.

Myrna.Minkoff-Katz topcommenter

Roe took care of this issue decades ago, but still the far-right troglodytes keep pushing their way into peoples' personal lives.

scottindallas topcommenter

In Maxwell Smart voice, "Just as I planned"

Montemalone topcommenter

When are these repubs gonna quit tryin' to legislate morality and do something that matters?
Oh right, never.

ThePosterFormerlyKnownasPaul topcommenter

@ScottsMerkin

True, I think Anna would have written an article that would have probably rated at 5/5 vaginas, but this one barely gets a -1/5.

Ardy

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz The average age of the Justices on both sides of the political divide is almost identical - 68 on the right and 67 on the left. The highest likelihood of the next retirement is from the left, RBG.

MaxNoDifference

@Myrna.Minkoff-KatzEven a fine upstanding Yankee like yourself knows better than to spout that nonsense south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution states "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." That means that the States are allowed to to regulate any and all areas not co-opted by the Federal Government.

That said, I still think that HB2 is a travesty on all Texans.

doublecheese

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz but treat some more equally than others? That's how that usually works out...

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz These restrictions are the LAW OF THE LAND. Why are you trying to start a civil war, you seditious traitor terrorist?!?

pak152

and when will the far-left loonies stop telling the rest of us how to live our lives?

pak152

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katzand you forget or rather ignore Casey v Planned Parenthood which established that restrictions can be put in place

"In Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992), the Supreme Court affirmed the basic ruling of Roe v. Wade that the state is prohibited from banning most abortions. Casey also ruled, however, that states may regulate abortions so as to protect the health of the mother and the life of the fetus, and may outlaw abortions of "viable" fetuses."
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_casey.html
http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/rule-of-law/judicial-activism/cases/planned-parenthood-v-casey

pak152

@Montemalone and when are Democrats going to stop passing legislation and regulations that really tell people how to live their lives?

doublecheese

@Montemalone All laws legislate morality.

icowrich

@Ardy @Myrna.Minkoff-Katz True, but it only takes one conservative to retire to flip the lean of the court. If a liberal retires, little will change.

icowrich

@MaxNoDifference But the 14th Amendment IS a part of the constitution, and it's the basis for Roe v. Wade. That means it is not an area reserved to the states.

Myrna.Minkoff-Katz topcommenter

@MaxNoDifference Let us not forget that the Constitution was drawn up by slave owners.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@doublecheese @Myrna.Minkoff-Katz Of course not, Myrna will have us all rolled into a mass grave. Those of us her Betters allow to be born in the first place, at least.

MaxNoDifference

@doublecheese @Myrna.Minkoff-Katz Some animals are more equal than others.

icowrich

@pak152 When the far-right loonies do.

MaxNoDifference

@icowrich @MaxNoDifference Your statement may be correct, but you misunderstand the meaning of my post. I was commenting on Myrna's post about "State's Rights", not about the Tenth Amendment's application to HB 2 (which I agree that it should not apply).

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz @MaxNoDifference Just like the Torah?

doublecheese

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz @MaxNoDifference You're right. Let's just scrap that whole "constitution" thing. Let's just let King Obama rule by decree. He knows what is best for all of us.