ON WEDNESDAY, the Supreme Court will take up the biggest reproductive-rights case it has considered in over 20 years. Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability, is not in question. Neither is Casey v Planned Parenthood, a 1992 decision extending Roe but permitting states to discourage abortion through certain regulations. The issue in Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt is how to apply the standard articulated in Casey which says that states may not impose an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to choose. With Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat now empty, there is no chance of a decision sharply curtailing abortion access nationwide. But the Court’s remaining eight justices may still deal a blow to abortion rights by permitting onerous regulations to take effect in a number of states.
Whole Woman’s Health involves House Bill 2, a Texas law adopted three years ago that requires abortion clinics to meet the rigorous...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1UwJMvb
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