One of the most rapacious efforts to outlaw abortion and overturn Roe v. Wade has taken a legal blow.
This week, a U.S. District Court judge in Austin enjoined Texas state officials from enforcing parts of a highly restrictive law, which include particular sections that require doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. They also struck down a provision that would have removed a doctor’s ability to make the health of the mother a factor in providing a late-term abortion.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel declared that the admittance requirement “places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus and is thus an undue burden to her.”
The court did, however, uphold a number of controversial aspects such as the 20-month limit and a method required by the law that many doctors say is outdated and even dangerous.
A majority of women’s health providers in the state filed the original bill, with many of them calling the decision a mixed bag for them. On the other side, the state has vowed to appeal. Carmen Russell-Sluchansky speaks with Terry O’Neill, the President of the National Organization for Women.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
