This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/28/abortion-advocates-supreme-court-victory-texas
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Abortion advocates 'on a high' with a long road ahead after supreme court win | Abortion advocates 'on a high' with a long road ahead after supreme court win |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Abortion providers and advocates gathered anxiously around a computer screen in Austin on Monday morning, waiting for news from the supreme court. | Abortion providers and advocates gathered anxiously around a computer screen in Austin on Monday morning, waiting for news from the supreme court. |
| When the ruling came through and handed a major victory to abortion rights supporters battling the severe restrictions Texas imposed in a 2013 law, there was elation that soon became inflected with an awareness of the challenges that still lie ahead in order to undo the damage done by the overturned regulations and to prepare for future battles against a state legislature hell-bent on finding ways to limit abortions. | When the ruling came through and handed a major victory to abortion rights supporters battling the severe restrictions Texas imposed in a 2013 law, there was elation that soon became inflected with an awareness of the challenges that still lie ahead in order to undo the damage done by the overturned regulations and to prepare for future battles against a state legislature hell-bent on finding ways to limit abortions. |
| The building where they assembled is a monument to the law’s consequences. Until the summer of 2014 it was an abortion clinic run by Whole Woman’s Health, the lead plaintiff in the supreme court case. Now it is ChoiceWorks, a collaborative space for reproductive rights groups, among others. | The building where they assembled is a monument to the law’s consequences. Until the summer of 2014 it was an abortion clinic run by Whole Woman’s Health, the lead plaintiff in the supreme court case. Now it is ChoiceWorks, a collaborative space for reproductive rights groups, among others. |
| There are 18 abortion clinics in Texas, down from 41 in November 2013 when part of House Bill 2 (HB2) took effect. Two core requirements, dismissed as medically unjustified and an undue burden by the justices in a 5-3 decision on Monday, called for abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic and meet regulatory standards for ambulatory surgical centres. | There are 18 abortion clinics in Texas, down from 41 in November 2013 when part of House Bill 2 (HB2) took effect. Two core requirements, dismissed as medically unjustified and an undue burden by the justices in a 5-3 decision on Monday, called for abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic and meet regulatory standards for ambulatory surgical centres. |
| Sadler said she “was a wreck” just before the decision was revealed, “pacing the floor and refusing to pick up the phone at that moment. It was definitely a nerve-wracking moment”. | Sadler said she “was a wreck” just before the decision was revealed, “pacing the floor and refusing to pick up the phone at that moment. It was definitely a nerve-wracking moment”. |
| After legal vindication comes practical problem-solving. Now Whole Woman’s Health, and other abortion providers in Texas, will have to assess the feasibility of re-opening shuttered clinics – a potentially complex task that could involve finding staff, applying for licenses and leases and raising funds, and may take months or years to bring to fruition. | After legal vindication comes practical problem-solving. Now Whole Woman’s Health, and other abortion providers in Texas, will have to assess the feasibility of re-opening shuttered clinics – a potentially complex task that could involve finding staff, applying for licenses and leases and raising funds, and may take months or years to bring to fruition. |
| “We definitely have some skeleton plans in place with the what-ifs, the many different what-ifs that could have come today, but at this point it’s much too early to make a decision on what our next steps will be, where we will open, what if or when will we open, which clinics, I think it’s a little too early for that,” Sadler said. | “We definitely have some skeleton plans in place with the what-ifs, the many different what-ifs that could have come today, but at this point it’s much too early to make a decision on what our next steps will be, where we will open, what if or when will we open, which clinics, I think it’s a little too early for that,” Sadler said. |
| “Today we’re on a high but we know there’s a long road ahead of us,” said Bhavik Kumar, a doctor with Whole Woman’s Health, who was among those following SCOTUSblog on Monday morning in ChoiceWorks as the site liveblogged the court’s ruling. | “Today we’re on a high but we know there’s a long road ahead of us,” said Bhavik Kumar, a doctor with Whole Woman’s Health, who was among those following SCOTUSblog on Monday morning in ChoiceWorks as the site liveblogged the court’s ruling. |
| “I chose to be a provider because of a lack of providers in a place like Texas. It is difficult to deal with protestors, security risks and feelings of isolation because there are so few of us that do this work it’s hard to find a sense of community.” That, he hopes, is changing. But with resources stretched, he said that some patients have endured wait times of more than 20 days for an initial appointment. The longer the delay, the more likely that pregnancies will pass the 20-week abortion limit also mandated by HB2. | “I chose to be a provider because of a lack of providers in a place like Texas. It is difficult to deal with protestors, security risks and feelings of isolation because there are so few of us that do this work it’s hard to find a sense of community.” That, he hopes, is changing. But with resources stretched, he said that some patients have endured wait times of more than 20 days for an initial appointment. The longer the delay, the more likely that pregnancies will pass the 20-week abortion limit also mandated by HB2. |
| Amanda Williams, executive director of the Austin-based Lilith Fund, which offered nearly $250,000 in financial assistance to women seeking abortions last year, said that clinic closures prompted by HB2 had proved onerous for many women. Most of the fund’s clients are low-income women of colour potentially forced to take multiple days off work to travel long distances to clinics. Williams said that 91% of clients in 2015 were already mothers. | Amanda Williams, executive director of the Austin-based Lilith Fund, which offered nearly $250,000 in financial assistance to women seeking abortions last year, said that clinic closures prompted by HB2 had proved onerous for many women. Most of the fund’s clients are low-income women of colour potentially forced to take multiple days off work to travel long distances to clinics. Williams said that 91% of clients in 2015 were already mothers. |
| Jessica González-Rojas, director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, said that some Latinas in Texas “were taking payday loans with 17%, 18% interest rates to pay for their abortions. Some risked losing their jobs, some talked to us about the challenges of scheduling appointments, some talked about having to do it between the hours that their kids were in school. It was a patchwork of pulling resources together just to exercise the decision to terminate a pregnancy that’s constitutionally protected. It became about jumping through hoops.” | Jessica González-Rojas, director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, said that some Latinas in Texas “were taking payday loans with 17%, 18% interest rates to pay for their abortions. Some risked losing their jobs, some talked to us about the challenges of scheduling appointments, some talked about having to do it between the hours that their kids were in school. It was a patchwork of pulling resources together just to exercise the decision to terminate a pregnancy that’s constitutionally protected. It became about jumping through hoops.” |
| As advocates held a celebratory press conference at ChoiceWorks on Monday afternoon, Dan Patrick, the Texas lieutenant governor, expressed his frustration to reporters in Houston at around the same time. Patrick was a co-author of HB2 and in 2011, when a state senator, successfully pushed for a law requiring women in Texas to undergo a sonogram with the results described by a doctor at least 24 hours before an abortion. | As advocates held a celebratory press conference at ChoiceWorks on Monday afternoon, Dan Patrick, the Texas lieutenant governor, expressed his frustration to reporters in Houston at around the same time. Patrick was a co-author of HB2 and in 2011, when a state senator, successfully pushed for a law requiring women in Texas to undergo a sonogram with the results described by a doctor at least 24 hours before an abortion. |
| In a statement, Patrick deemed the Supreme Court’s ruling “a devastating blow to the protection of the health and safety of women in Texas” that leaves clinics “free to ignore these basic safety standards and continue practicing under substandard conditions”. His fellow Republican, the governor, Greg Abbott, agreed. | In a statement, Patrick deemed the Supreme Court’s ruling “a devastating blow to the protection of the health and safety of women in Texas” that leaves clinics “free to ignore these basic safety standards and continue practicing under substandard conditions”. His fellow Republican, the governor, Greg Abbott, agreed. |
| This was not a stance that persuaded the majority of the justices. Stephen Breyer wrote that Texas had failed to make a persuasive case for the validity of the admitting privileges requirement. “When directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case,” he wrote. | This was not a stance that persuaded the majority of the justices. Stephen Breyer wrote that Texas had failed to make a persuasive case for the validity of the admitting privileges requirement. “When directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case,” he wrote. |
| In a concurring opinion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote: “Many medical procedures, including childbirth, are far more dangerous to patients, yet are not subject to ambulatory surgical-center or hospital admitting-privileges requirements.” | In a concurring opinion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote: “Many medical procedures, including childbirth, are far more dangerous to patients, yet are not subject to ambulatory surgical-center or hospital admitting-privileges requirements.” |
| Despite this setback for opponents of abortion, the Republican-dominated Texas legislature reconvenes next January and fresh attempts to limit abortions are almost inevitable, potentially focusing on timing and methods – on the condition of the fetus, rather than the clinic. | Despite this setback for opponents of abortion, the Republican-dominated Texas legislature reconvenes next January and fresh attempts to limit abortions are almost inevitable, potentially focusing on timing and methods – on the condition of the fetus, rather than the clinic. |
| “I don’t believe this ruling today is going to have any impact on my colleagues who are wanting to end this legal procedure, unfortunately,” said Donna Howard, a Democratic state representative for Austin. | “I don’t believe this ruling today is going to have any impact on my colleagues who are wanting to end this legal procedure, unfortunately,” said Donna Howard, a Democratic state representative for Austin. |
| “This is really about eliminating abortion and the way they are trying to eliminate abortion is to create as many obstacles as possible.” | “This is really about eliminating abortion and the way they are trying to eliminate abortion is to create as many obstacles as possible.” |
| Additional reporting by Molly Redden |