Abortion facilities in Texas that were due to shut after failing new health and safety standards will continue to operate, following a last minute intervention by the United States Supreme Court.
A Texan law, passed in 2013, introduced new regulations for abortion facilities. Under the law, abortion providers must ensure that their doctors hold admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and that their premises meet hospital-level standards.
These provisions, scheduled to come into effect on 1 July, were expected to lead to the closure of numerous facilities.
A federal appeals court upheld the legitimacy of the law last month, after it was challenged by pro-abortion groups and abortion providers. On Monday 29 June, however, the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 to suspend the provisions whilst it considers whether to hear an appeal on the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision, which, if upheld, would effectively force 10 clinics to close.
Other provisions of the same law have already led to the closure of several abortion facilities.
With the Supreme Court now in a summer recess and not due to reconvene until October, those abortion providers who have failed to meet standards will remain open for several more months.
Defending the law, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: “Texas will continue to fight for higher-quality healthcare standards for women while protecting our most vulnerable – the unborn, and I’m confident the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold this law.”
Presidential candidate Rick Perry, who as governor of Texas at the time signed the 2013 bill into law, said in a statement on Monday that the Supreme Court’s intervention “unnecessarily puts lives in danger by allowing unsafe facilities to continue to perform abortions.”
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