U.S.
Juan Carlos Llorca / AP
A federal appeals court upheld key parts of Texas' strict anti-abortion law on Tuesday, a decision that could leave as few as seven abortion clinics in the nation's second-largest state.
The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals emerged from a lawsuit challenging some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country, including requirements that all abortion-providing clinics meet hospital-level operating standards.
Owners of small clinics argued that those standards demand millions of dollars in upgrades they can't afford. They and other abortion-rights supporters say the law is a thinly veiled attempt to block access to abortions in the state, but Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives supporting the law say the standards protect women's health.
The 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans and considered one of the most conservative panels in the nation, allowed Texas to enforce the restrictions when abortion providers first sued in 2013. But the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the law last year.
Texas currently has about 17 abortion providers — down from 40 clinics in 2012. That sharp decline began after the 5th Circuit upheld another part of the 2013 law that required doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
Under the new restrictions, the only remaining abortion facilities in Texas will likely be in major cities. One exception would be in McAllen, near the Texas-Mexico border, which the 5th Circuit exempted from some restrictions.
But for women in El Paso, getting an abortion will now require a 1,200-mile round trip to San Antonio or going to New Mexico.
Attorneys for the state dismissed opponents' arguments that women would be burdened by a reduction in abortion facilities, saying that nearly 9 in 10 women in Texas would still live within 150 miles of a provider.
A new slate of conservative leaders in Texas has vowed to continue stifling abortion-rights efforts. George P. Bush, the son of expected 2016 presidential hopeful Jeb Bush and a nephew of former President George W. Bush, made an anti-abortion rally at the Capitol his first public event since being sworn in as land commissioner, along with Abbott's wife, Cecilia Abbott.
Abortion-rights supporters are expected to appeal the circuit court decision to the Supreme Court.
The Associated Press
On Jan. 6, an appeals court will hear a challenge to the measure, which has led clinics to close
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