(29 Jun 2020) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus138914
A divided Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics.
Chief Justice John Roberts and his four more liberal colleagues ruled that the law requiring doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals violates the abortion rights the court first announced in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
The decision reasserts a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era.
The Louisiana law is virtually identical to one in Texas that the court struck down in 2016.
The key vote belonged to Roberts, who had always voted against abortion rights before, including in the 2016 case.
The chief justice explained that he continues to think the Texas case was wrongly decided, but believes it's important for the court to stand by its prior decisions.
His position left abortion-rights supporters more relieved than elated.
Reproductive rights advocate and attorney Nia Weeks says she plans to revel in the win.
"Women have larger access today to make a decision that they know will have the best impact for their lives, the lives of the team they choose or not choose to bring into this world," she told the Associated Press.
The outcome is not the last word on the decades-long fight over abortion with dozens of state-imposed restrictions winding their way through the courts.
But the decision was a surprising defeat for abortion opponents, who thought that a new conservative majority with two of President Donald Trump's appointees on board would start chipping away at abortion access.
Mallory Quigley, a spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List, says the ruling is extremely concerning because it doesn't ensure that women are protected.
"I am frankly worried for women in Louisiana who won't have the oversight of local hospitals keeping an eye on abortion doctors and the lack of continuity of care, if there's a medical emergency during an abortion procedure," she said.
Quigley says anti-abortion advocates were encouraged by the dissent, written by Justice Clarence Thomas.
"We were encouraged to see the Trump-appointed judges make the right decision," she said. "It underscores the importance of the upcoming election."
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