QTPOC and LSRJ applaud the Supreme Court’s ruling on Whole Women’s Health!
Please read and share the statement from our ally organization Columbia LawStudents for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ)
Happy Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt Day to you all! After a long wait, Supreme Court has finally ruled, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief as the 5th Circuit is reversed. Writing for the majority, Breyer held that the two challenged provisions of Texas law HB2 are unconstitutional as they impose an “undue burden” on abortion-seekers in Texas.
This decision is incredibly important. In it, the Supreme Court stands strong in protecting the constitutional right to abortion, the fundamental right to dignity and autonomy in choosing whether and when to become a parent. Breyer and RBG expose the anti-choice strategy to remove access to abortion care by passing Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP laws). The opinion emphasizes the very real burden placed on people who do not have readily available and attainable reproductive choices. It says that women’s health will not co-opted to limit, restrict, and oppress reproductive freedom. The majority relies on facts and evidence-based medicine, not imagined scenarios with only the slimmest possibility of bearing out in reality.
As this is the first time the Court has struck down a TRAP law, the influence of this ruling will go beyond the more immediate effects in Texas, reverberating through the legal system and impacting pending cases and standing laws. Louisiana and Mississippi, just to give two examples, have similar laws regulating abortion providers, so we can expect to see challenges in these states, as well.
You can read the opinion here.
Some zingers and real talk from the Justices:
– “We add that, when directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case.” – Breyer
– “Nationwide, childbirth is 14 times more likely than abortion to result in death, … but Texas law allows a midwife to oversee childbirth in the patient’s own home. Colonoscopy, a procedure that typically takes place outside a hospital (or surgical center) setting, has a mortality rate 10 times higher than an abortion.” – Breyer
– “Many medical procedures, including childbirth, are far more dangerous to patients, yet are not subject to ambulatory surgical-center or hospital admitting-privileges requirements…. Given those realities, it is beyond rational belief that H. B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women, and certain that the law ‘would simply make it more difficult for them to obtain abortions.’” – RBG
If you enjoy getting these updates, or you care about reproductive justice, or you want to hear about interesting speakers and cool pro bono opportunities, please remember to subscribe to the LSRJ Google Group! Go to CLS Student Organization Website, scroll down to “Law Students for Reproductive Justice,” and click “Subscribe.” Thank you to everyone who has already subscribed, and I look forward to learning and advocating along with all of you in the upcoming year!
All the best,
Your 2016-2017 LSRJ Board
Madeline Hopper, Maia Hutt, Rachel Ross, & Lily Westergaard