Post by cjm on Nov 3, 2013 9:12:50 GMT
What always amazes me about these issues that here they are settled while in the West (US?) they are still being debated.
www.nytimes.com/2013/11/02/us/texas-abortion-clinics-say-courts-ruling-is-forcing-them-to-stop-the-procedures.html?ref=todayspaper
www.nytimes.com/2013/11/02/us/texas-abortion-clinics-say-courts-ruling-is-forcing-them-to-stop-the-procedures.html?ref=todayspaper
Texas Clinics Stop Abortions After Court Ruling
By LAURA TILLMAN and JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: November 1, 2013
McALLEN, Tex. — The day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for Texas’ restrictive abortion law to take effect while it faces legal challenge, many clinics across the state said they had stopped providing abortions and were preparing to shut down, leaving women seeking their services distraught.
The Texas law, passed by the Legislature in July, requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility where the procedure is performed, among other new rules.
In September, a coalition of abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights as well as clinics and doctors sued to stop the law. On Monday, Judge Lee Yeakel of United States District Court in Austin blocked enforcement of the law’s requirement of physician-admitting privileges, saying it is “without a rational basis and places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion.”
On Thursday, three judges on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans — Priscilla R. Owen, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Catharina Haynes — allowed enforcement to begin. A 20-page opinion stated there was “a substantial likelihood that the state will prevail,” and that Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs had not proved that the restrictions would place an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions. All three appeals court judges were appointed by President George W. Bush, as was Judge Yeakel.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas praised the ruling, saying that it “affirms our right to protect both the unborn and the health of the women of Texas.”
Ms. Hagstrom Miller said she and her staff were planning to help patients get transportation or provide gas cards so they could get to clinics that still provide abortions. She has been trying to get doctors accredited by hospitals, but said that the process is slow.
Some 30 miles away in Harlingen, Dr. Lester Minto, the physician and owner of Reproductive Services, said that in three decades of providing abortions he has stood up to protesters, at times numbering in the hundreds, who have picketed the clinic and frightened his patients.
The new law, however, is a bigger obstacle. He said he has not been able to get admitting privileges from nearby hospitals.
“You can’t fight Austin,” Dr. Minto said.
On Friday, patients came into the clinic for counseling and sonograms. “They were all quite desperate and scared,” he said. Some told him they would travel to Houston, more than 300 miles away; others told him they would go to Mexico, where abortion-inducing drugs are widely available at pharmacies.
At Planned Parenthood, a spokesman, Eric Ferrero, said that four of the organization’s health centers — in Austin, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Waco — would not be able to provide abortions under the new rules, but that those clinics will keep their doors open to provide other health services. The groups said they would continue to fight the Texas law. “This is far from over,” Mr. Ferrero said.
Those opposing the law could petition the Fifth Circuit to ask that all of its judges reconsider the decision in a process known as en banc, or they might take the case directly to the Supreme Court.
Elizabeth Graham, the director of Texas Right to Life, said in a statement applauding the Fifth Circuit decision, “Our attorney general and his team have done a masterful job in defending House Bill 2 and pursuing the law taking effect immediately.”
Marni J. Evans, a consultant on green building in Austin, said she was scheduled to get an abortion on Friday morning, but got a call from Planned Parenthood canceling her appointment.
Ms. Evans said that she would fly to Washington State, where she will stay with friends and get the procedure done. “If I’m going to go through this process, which is pretty emotionally challenging, I’m going to go through it with the best possible care and the most supportive environment,” she said.
Until the case works its way through the courts, much is uncertain, Ms. Hagstrom Miller said. “I’m not going to put a ‘for sale’ sign up on my building when I still have a patient in my parking lot — but there will be a ‘for sale’ sign going up in McAllen very soon.”
Laura Tillman reported from McAllen, and John Schwartz from New York.
By LAURA TILLMAN and JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: November 1, 2013
McALLEN, Tex. — The day after a federal appeals court cleared the way for Texas’ restrictive abortion law to take effect while it faces legal challenge, many clinics across the state said they had stopped providing abortions and were preparing to shut down, leaving women seeking their services distraught.
The Texas law, passed by the Legislature in July, requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility where the procedure is performed, among other new rules.
In September, a coalition of abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights as well as clinics and doctors sued to stop the law. On Monday, Judge Lee Yeakel of United States District Court in Austin blocked enforcement of the law’s requirement of physician-admitting privileges, saying it is “without a rational basis and places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion.”
On Thursday, three judges on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans — Priscilla R. Owen, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Catharina Haynes — allowed enforcement to begin. A 20-page opinion stated there was “a substantial likelihood that the state will prevail,” and that Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs had not proved that the restrictions would place an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions. All three appeals court judges were appointed by President George W. Bush, as was Judge Yeakel.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas praised the ruling, saying that it “affirms our right to protect both the unborn and the health of the women of Texas.”
Ms. Hagstrom Miller said she and her staff were planning to help patients get transportation or provide gas cards so they could get to clinics that still provide abortions. She has been trying to get doctors accredited by hospitals, but said that the process is slow.
Some 30 miles away in Harlingen, Dr. Lester Minto, the physician and owner of Reproductive Services, said that in three decades of providing abortions he has stood up to protesters, at times numbering in the hundreds, who have picketed the clinic and frightened his patients.
The new law, however, is a bigger obstacle. He said he has not been able to get admitting privileges from nearby hospitals.
“You can’t fight Austin,” Dr. Minto said.
On Friday, patients came into the clinic for counseling and sonograms. “They were all quite desperate and scared,” he said. Some told him they would travel to Houston, more than 300 miles away; others told him they would go to Mexico, where abortion-inducing drugs are widely available at pharmacies.
At Planned Parenthood, a spokesman, Eric Ferrero, said that four of the organization’s health centers — in Austin, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Waco — would not be able to provide abortions under the new rules, but that those clinics will keep their doors open to provide other health services. The groups said they would continue to fight the Texas law. “This is far from over,” Mr. Ferrero said.
Those opposing the law could petition the Fifth Circuit to ask that all of its judges reconsider the decision in a process known as en banc, or they might take the case directly to the Supreme Court.
Elizabeth Graham, the director of Texas Right to Life, said in a statement applauding the Fifth Circuit decision, “Our attorney general and his team have done a masterful job in defending House Bill 2 and pursuing the law taking effect immediately.”
Marni J. Evans, a consultant on green building in Austin, said she was scheduled to get an abortion on Friday morning, but got a call from Planned Parenthood canceling her appointment.
Ms. Evans said that she would fly to Washington State, where she will stay with friends and get the procedure done. “If I’m going to go through this process, which is pretty emotionally challenging, I’m going to go through it with the best possible care and the most supportive environment,” she said.
Until the case works its way through the courts, much is uncertain, Ms. Hagstrom Miller said. “I’m not going to put a ‘for sale’ sign up on my building when I still have a patient in my parking lot — but there will be a ‘for sale’ sign going up in McAllen very soon.”
Laura Tillman reported from McAllen, and John Schwartz from New York.