With the Supreme Court equally divided among conservatives and liberals, Justice Anthony Kennedy may prove to have the decisive vote when it comes to the Texas abortion bill that has become a major battling ground between pro-choice advocates and pro-life supporters. Historically, he has always been the tie-breaker in close rulings. Kennedy has expressed concerns about the bill's more rigid requirements but has not indicated that he will strike it down.
Reuters gives the background of the case. The liberal judges have taken the position that the bill's conditions, like requiring doctors to have formal affiliations with hospitals, violate the constitutional rights of a woman to terminate her pregnancy, which had been granted in a 1973 ruling. On the other hand, the conservative judges stated their reservations about the abortionists' claims that the Texas bill had led to the closure of dozens of clinics.
The Texas legislature, composed by a majority of Republicans, was ostensibly created to protect the health of women.
The three conservative judges are expected to pass the bill. However, Kennedy, himself a conservative, has given little indications that he would align with them. Siding with the liberal judges would either send the bill back to the lower courts or strike it down completely.
Time Magazine's look at Kennedy's past rulings indicates he favors late-term abortions, but remains "conflicted" about the entire issue. In Planned Parenthood vs. Casey in 1992, the justice issued statements that any law that that places "substantial obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability" is invalid. Yet in Gonzales vs. Carhart in 2007, he upheld the majority ruling banning "partial-birth" abortion, citing the state's responsibility towards the rights of unborn children. He wrote that the state's laws in regulating the medical profession must also "promote respect for life, including the life of the unborn."
Pollitico summarizes the outcome of several decisions Kennedy could take. Joining the four liberal justices would "set a national precedent." A ruling that would strike down Texas bill's restrictive measures would still leave other conditions in place, such as "a waiting period and a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy."
