The US Supreme Court is set to hear its first oral arguments regarding abortion regulations that were passed in the state of Texas. Reports say that the court may set new limits for what kind of regulations state lawmakers can implement on abortion providers.
Yahoo News reported that the US Supreme Court will weigh Texas' state law which lawmakers said 'will protect women's health', but abortion providers insisted that the goal of the regulations is to close down more of their clinics.
The conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on February 13, was opposed to abortion and has backed the regulations against it. His death means that the court no longer has five conservatives who are more likely to support restrictive regulations on abortion in the US.
The Texas law, which was passed on 2013 and signed by a Republican governor, requires a physician to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic before they can intervene with the patient's critical care. According to Houston Press, the law also requires abortion clinics to adhere to certain strict standards, like floor tiles, swinging of doors, and corridor width.
Known also as HB2, the 150-page book also includes rules for how the air has to ventilate in a clinic and the dimensions of the janitor's closet, says Texas Public Radio. Abortion providers said that the standards are difficult to meet, which then prompted several clinics to close. From 41 clinics, Texas now has 19 abortion clinics since the law was passed. People who support abortion are challenging such provisions in the law.
The issue that will be tackled by the court is whether the Texas requirements violate a principle by putting a 'substantial obstacle' in the path of a woman before a fetus becomes viable. The ruling is said to be due by the end of June. The US Supreme Court's last major abortion ruling was in 2007 when it maintained a federal law that bans late-term abortion procedure.
