Victory! Lambda Legal Hails U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Protecting Access to Abortion

(Washington, D.C., June, 27, 2016) — Today, in a 5-3 decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down two provisions of a Texas anti-abortion law that, if allowed to go into effect, would have forced 75 percent of Texas abortion clinics to close. Lambda Legal, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the abortion providers, clinics and their patients, applauded today’s decision.

“Today the Court affirmed that the Constitution protects the right to abortion, and clarified that the test used by the Court to determine whether an abortion restriction is unconstitutional –the ‘undue burden’ standard--is a rigorous test,” said Camilla Taylor, Counsel at Lambda Legal. “When a state legislature passes a law restricting abortion, claiming that the law serves women’s health, courts have an independent constitutional duty to scrutinize the legislation closely to determine whether the health justification is simply a pretext, and the law actually serves little or no health-related benefit.”

Lambda Legal submitted a friend-of-the-court brief that encouraged the Court to scrutinize closely the legislative justifications for abortion restrictions. “This victory is a crucial win not just for women but for LGBT people as well, who also can need access to abortion services,” added Taylor. “The landmark Supreme Court cases on which both LGBT people and women (whether LBT or not) depend for vindication of their constitutional guarantees of liberty and equality share a common doctrinal foundation. Additionally, women, whether LBT or not, share a common history of subordination and discrimination, including through application and enforcement of sex stereotypes, such as those reflected by anti-abortion regulations. As LGBT people know all too well, when government interferes with individual autonomy in decisions about family life, intimacy, and procreation, government stigmatizes people and deprives them of equal dignity. This ruling protects the dignity and equality of everyone who needs abortion services, and is a tremendous victory for reproductive justice. We congratulate our colleagues at the Center for Reproductive Rights on this significant win.”

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt involved a challenge to two provisions of HB2, a Texas anti-abortion bill that passed in July 2013: 1) a requirement that a physician performing or inducing an abortion have admitting privileges at a hospital located no more than 30 miles from the location where the abortion is induced; and 2) an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) licensing requirement, which mandates that abortion clinics meet structural and operational standards appropriate for mini hospitals. These provisions do not enhance patient safety or health, and serve only to make it harder for women to end a pregnancy.

Lambda Legal lawyers on the brief include Camilla B. Taylor, Kyle A. Palazzolo, Susan L. Sommer, Jennifer C. Pizer, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, and Kara Ingelhart, in addition to Lambda Legal fellow Caroline Sacerdote.