Supreme Court declines to block Texas abortion law

A split U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to block implementation of a new abortion law in Texas that already has prompted a dozen clinics in the state to stop performing the procedure.

The provision requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility in case women have complications.

The four liberal members of the nine-member court objected to the decision not to block the appeals court ruling that allows the law to go into effect.

"[T]he injunction meant that abortion clinics in Texas whose physicians do not have admitting privileges at a hostpital within 30 miles of the clinic were forced to cease offering abortions," Justice Stephen Breyer said in his dissent. "And it means that women who were planning to receive abortions at those clinics were forced to go elsewhere – in some cases 100 miles or more – to obtain a safe abortion, or else not to obtain one at all."

Further, Breyer added that the injunction properly prevented the potential for "serious physical or other harm to many women whose exercise of their constitutional right to obtain an abortion would be unduly burdened by the law."

Al Jazeera and Reuters