Supreme Court Rules Against Louisiana Abortion Clinic Restrictions

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against a Louisiana abortion clinic law.

 
 

The law that was struck down required that individuals who perform abortions at clinics have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital.  The court ruled 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court’s liberal justices.

 
 

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that the Louisiana law is “almost word-for-word identical” to a Texas law that the court ruled was unconstitutional in 2016.

“We have examined the extensive record carefully and conclude that it supports the District Court’s findings of fact,” Breyer wrote. “Those findings mirror those made in Whole Woman’s Health in every relevant respect and require the same result. We consequently hold that the Louisiana statute is unconstitutional.”

 
 

In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote,

“Today a majority of the Court perpetuates its ill-founded abortion jurisprudence by enjoining a perfectly legitimate state law and doing so without jurisdiction.”

 
 

Thomas claimed that those performing abortions do not have the standing to challenge laws on the basis that they restrict the ability to get an abortion because it is not their rights that are at issue, but their potential patients’.

 
 


 
 


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