Abortion and the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to review two cases, both from the Fifth Circuit, that reach diametrically opposed conclusions about abortion. In Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Currier, a panel of Fifth Circuit judges stopped Mississippi from enforcing a law that required all physicians performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. In Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, a different panel of Fifth Circuit judges refused to stop the enforcement of two key abortion restrictions in Texas law H.B.2. The first requires that the physician performing the abortion has admitting privileges to a hospital located within 30 miles of the place where the abortion was to be performed. The second provision requires that all abortion clinics comply with the applicable standards for ambulatory surgical centers.