Federal judge blocks Wisc abortion law

A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction delaying, for another four months, part of a new Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. It was the latest federal push-back against a conservative state-by-state effort to curb abortion rights.

U.S. District Judge William Conley's order stems from a lawsuit Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services (AMS) filed in July. The organizations say the law would force a Planned Parenthood clinic in Appleton and an AMS clinic in Milwaukee to close because abortion providers at both facilities lack admitting privileges.

Planned Parenthood and AMS filed their lawsuit the day Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed the bill. The organizations argued that women would have to travel hundreds of miles farther to obtain abortions at Planned Parenthood facilities in Madison and Milwaukee -- where providers have admitting privileges.

They also say the law unconstitutionally restricts the availability of abortions in Wisconsin, violates the U.S. Constitution's due-process guarantee and unconstitutionally treats abortion providers different than other doctors.

State attorneys defending the law could ask the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the injunction. A spokeswoman for the state Justice Department said in an email that agency lawyers are reviewing Conley's order and considering their "next step."

She did not elaborate. As the case stands now, the two clinics can remain open at least until Conley issues a final ruling after the trial.

The judge justified the injunction by finding that state attorneys aren't likely to prove the admitting privileges requirement is reasonably related to a woman's health and the organizations probably can show the mandate poses a substantial obstacle to obtaining abortions.

"Given the substantial likelihood of success on the merits and of irreparable harm, the public's interest is best serviced by imposing a preliminary injunction on enforcement of the admitting privileges requirement until this court can address its merits after trial," Conley wrote.

Gov. Walker signed the GOP-authored law on July 5, making Wisconsin one of several states, including Texas, where hospital admitting privileges are required for abortion providers.

Abortion-rights activists believe that the Republican push for requiring admitting privileges is meant to force the closure of abortion clinics.

In July, after weeks of protests, Texas also passed a law requiring hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of a clinic. Opponents decried the law, saying it would cause the majority of clinics in the state to close.

Another part of the state’s sweeping anti-abortion legislation bans the procedure after 20 weeks.

The law was passed after state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) staged an 11-hour filibuster in June that temporarily stalled the bill.

Mississippi has been most affected by this provision -- where the only abortion clinic still operating is fighting in federal court to stay open after a 2012 state law imposed admitting privilege requirements on it.

While conservatives in several states have been pushing to pass strict laws on abortion, their efforts have at times been impeded by federal judges who have blocked some of the most controversial parts of the laws.

In North Dakota in June, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland granted a temporary injunction blocking the Aug. 1 enactment of a law that would ban abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. Hovland said the law was “clearly invalid and unconstitutional.”

In March, Arkansas adopted a law banning abortions after 12 weeks, when a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected. Gov. Mike Beebe vetoed the law, but it was still enacted.

In May, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the law.

Arizona implemented a law that bans abortions after 18 weeks past fertilization, but the law was also later blocked by a federal appeals court.

These new laws come as part of a growing national push by Republicans to pass strict abortion laws, one state at a time.

A Gallup poll shows that the 52 percent of Americans think that abortions should be legal "under certain circumstances."

About 65 percent said that abortions before three months should be legal. About 30 percent said it should be illegal.

A majority of respondents said that abortions after three months should be illegal.

Twenty-six percent said abortions should be legal under all circumstances and 20 percent responded that the procedure should never be legal.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press