A Supreme Court order has blocked key provisions of Texas’s omnibus abortion law and allowed more than a dozen clinics to resume services

Texas’s controversial abortion law, known familiarly as HB2 (for House Bill 2), has resulted in the closure of dozens of clinics across the state since last year. But a US supreme court decision handed down Tuesday 14 October, allowed many of those clinics to resume services – for now.

The order overturned a recent ruling from the US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, which allowed Texas to enforce the second of a series of tough regulations for abortion providers under HB2.

A first requirement, that all abortion doctors have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic, went into effect last November and resulted in the shuttering of more than 10 clinics after many doctors were unable to comply. Earlier this month, the fifth circuit court upheld a second requirement that all abortion clinics meet strict building regulations as ambulatory surgical centres (ASCs), mini-hospitals that handle higher-risk outpatient procedures. Because structural upgrades to existing facilities can be prohibitively expensive, the ASC requirement shuttered an additional 13 clinics in the state.

Both requirements have been called medically unnecessary by opponents, but are touted as safeguards for women’s health by the bill’s authors.

By one count, Texas had 36 abortion providers at this time last year, but last week that number was down to 7.

The supreme court’s ruling blocks the Ambulatory Surgical Center requirement for all clinics in Texas, and suspends the admitting privileges requirement for clinics in El Paso and McAllen, both underserved areas. Whether all of the effected clinics will reopen remains to be seen. Clinics also face future closure as a full hearing at the notoriously conservative appeals court is still pending.

Explore the changing landscape of abortion in Texas below.

This article and graphic were updated on 15 October 2014.

The graphic was amended on 10 October 2014 to remove reference to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Lubbock, Texas. The clinic closed only in part due to HB2.