Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments about HB 2, a 2013 Texas law that requires (a) all abortion clinics to meet the standards of “ambulatory surgical centers,” and (b) all doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Does this impose an undue burden on women seeking abortions? Hmmm:
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whom both sides consider pivotal to the outcome of the court’s most important abortion case in a generation, wondered whether it was possible to tell if the changes in Texas law were responsible for the closure of nearly half the state’s abortion clinics. He wondered if lower courts might need to hear more evidence.
Yeah, that’s a chin scratcher. Maybe all those clinics suddenly decided to close because they got great buyout offers from a national chain of Tex-Mex restaurants. I mean, it’s possible, right? We definitely need more evidence.
