The Supreme Court today struck down a Texas law that imposed significant restrictions on access to abortion clinics, a major victory for pro-abortion rights activists and a blow to the campaign to limit the procedures.
The justices’ decision, 5-3, struck down a law that set strict regulations governing how abortion clinics operate. The Texas law, passed in 2013 by a Republican governor, mainly required clinics providing abortion services to keep building standards in line with walk-in surgical centers.
Hundreds of activists on both sides of the abortion debate gathered outside the Supreme Court in anticipation of the ruling. Today is the last day that the court will issue decisions for this term, which began in October.
While Texas has defended the restrictions, the number of clinics providing abortion services in the state has dropped since the law was enacted. The Supreme Court said Texas put an undue burden on a woman’s legal right to choose.
The nine justices who normally sit on the court were left one member short after the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in February. He routinely sided with anti-abortionists.
The court is evenly divided with four conservative justices and four liberals. The majority opinion for the court, by Justice Stephen Breyer, held that the regulations are medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limit a woman’s right to an abortion.
The last time the high court decided a major abortion case was nine years ago when they ruled to uphold a law banning late-term abortion procedures.