Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Texas Abortion Law
The Supreme Court on Monday put a temporary hold on a Texas law that abortion rights groups say would have led to the closures of all but a handful of the state’s abortion clinics.
The law, which was to go into effect Wednesday, requires clinics to adhere to strict, hospital-like facilities requirements. It also requires physicians conducting abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Had the law gone into effect as scheduled, all but nine of the 19 clinics in the state would have had to close, groups said.
The court granted the reprieve after abortion rights groups, which had previously lost an appeal, asked for an emergency stay. The stay likely will remain in place at least through the summer, as the parties put together their case and the court decides whether to take it up in the next term.