On Monday, the Supreme Court blocked a Louisiana abortion law by a 5-4 ruling that could have shut down many abortion clinics within the state.
“The Louisiana Law was a carbon copy of the Texas law. Almost word for word identical, and so this really was an attempt on the state of Louisiana to say hey... there’s a new justice on the supreme court, Anthony Kennedy is gone, John Roberts is there. Let’s see if we can get this overturned,” said Jeff Dixon.
The Louisiana law stated doctors could not perform procedures unless they had the authority to admit patients to a nearby hospital.
The 2016 Texas law stated that the physician’s must have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles, and the abortion facility must meet minimum requirements for ambulatory surgical centers.
Shawn Carney, President of the Bryan,Texas based non-profit 40 days for life, released a statement following the decision saying, "This betrayal will cost countless unborn babies their lives and further restrict how states can regulate a highly unregulated and dirty abortion industry."
Chief Justice John Roberts stated that, “the Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law, for the same reasons.”
“The court under Roberts emphasized the principle of stare decisis, which just means letting that which has been decided remain. That was his principle reason in siding with the majority in this case,”said Jeff Dixon.
State officials said that the laws passed were in an effort to improve abortion safety by verifying doctor credentialing.
