When Emily Bazelon speaks on abortion, I listen: Texas abortion law likely to go to SCOTUS

[cali]

Because the new Texas abortion law is too big to ignore, it also has the best chance of landing before the Supreme Court.

The legislation threatens to take away access to abortion — in the first trimester as well as later — from tens of thousands of women. Abortion rights advocates have to challenge it in court.

When they do, the case will wind up in front of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a court with judges who have clearly signaled their interest in upholding abortion restrictions if they possibly can. The 5th Circuit’s eventual ruling could well conflict with the decision of other appeals courts — creating the kind of split that the Supreme Court is supposed to resolve.

The Texas abortion bill imposes four sets of restrictions. It bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It requires clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgery centers, a favorite kind of TRAP law. (TRAP stands for targeted regulations of abortion providers.) This provision compels clinics to widen hallways so patients can be carried out on stretchers and provide large and expensively equipped recovery rooms. In other words, it costs a lot of money to comply with, which leads some clinics to say they will have to shut their doors — and why it’s a popular way to fight abortion these days.

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http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20130716-emily-bazelon-new-texas-abortion-law-too-big-for-supreme-court-to-ignore.ece

[newfie11]

1. God forbid SCOTUS gets this

Roe vs Wade will be reversed.

[handmade34]

2. my belief

is that is what all this outrageous legislation is about... the hope that it will go to the courts and end up in the Supreme Court... and eventually turn Roe V Wade

[cali]

5. well, yes. But TRAP laws have effectively made abortion

rights defunct for millions of women, so it's a two pronged approach. And they want the "right" law or sets of laws to reach SCOTUS.

I don't see SCOTUS as its currently composed, overturning Roe. Unless, Kennedy has changed substantially, he's not going to vote to overturn it. He might very well vote that some of the worst TRAP laws do not impose an undue burden.

[JHB]

4. That's probably the plan

The conservative justices have shown they don't actually have a problem with "judicial activism" when it advances their own favored causes.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the spate of laws pushed through in Texas, North Carolina, etc. are part of a concerted effort to get a case in front of the SC in order to give the Roberts court the opportunity to revisit both Roe v Wade and Griswold v Connecticut. And get "activist" on them.

[cali]

6. No, I don't think it will, but it could be crippled

[Le Taz Hot]

3. There have been people on this board and elsewhere

who are calling for a New Revolution in order to reclaim our Democracy. If the SC even THINKS about reversing ANY of Roe or ANY of the subsequent decisions they'll get their New Revolution and it will be led by the women. GUARANTEED!