The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments over a Texas abortion law, the first abortion case in a nearly decade, that will set on March 2. The women's healthcare providers argue the 2013 Texas abortion law shuts down most of the state's abortion clinics. The two sides are now quitely gathering personal testimonies from women to supplement their legal arguments.
The women's healthcare providers are challenging a state law that forces abortion clinics to meet the the standards as ambulatory surgical centers and that abortionists have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital for situations of medical emergencies. According to Reuters, the two regulations would force more than 75 percent of the state's abortion clinics to close, and prevent new ones from opening.
The U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel declared the requirements an unconstitutional burden on women's access to abortion, but the decision was reversed by the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The state said that the law is safeguarding women's health.
The new appeal that will be held in March will be heard by the nine justices. A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.
Judge Edith Jones, who wrote unanimous opinion for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that upheld the abortion law, noted that at least 210 women in Texas annually must be hospitalized after seeking an abortion, National Right to Life News reported. She added that witnesses on both sides further testified that some of the women who are hospitalized after an abortion have complications that require an OB/GYN specialist's treatment.
Lawyers for the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which is representing the healthcare providers, said in the filing that nearly half of the 40 abortion clinics operated in Texas closed after law passed. The CRR lawyers said that if the law is upheld, many more would shut down. The lawyers also insisted abortion is safer than many other common medical procedures.
According to Review Journal, CRR lawyers have been seeking personal testimonies through emails and phone calls to strengthen their arguments. Former Democratic Texas state senator Wendy Davis, who had two abortions in 1990s, agreed to join a brief of public officials. While the director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, Heather Busby, agreed to provide her story for a brief to be filed on behalf of lawyers who had abortions.
Meanwhile, a lawyer of the San Antonio-based Justice Foundation, Allan Parker, is reaching out testimonies through a website called "Operation Outcry" to defend the abortion law. Parker said many women have agreed to join the brief about the harms of abortion.
