Abortion-rights advocates said the law would shut more than half of the clinics remaining in the state. Supreme Court blocks Texas abortion law ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily halted two Texas requirements that would have forced more than half of the state’s abortion clinics to close on Wednesday.

Without the emergency action, only nine clinics would have remained opened, according to abortion-rights advocates. The provisions blocked by the justices are part of a law that has shut down approximately 20 clinics since taking effect in 2013. They require that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital and that abortion clinics meet the building standards of ambulatory surgical centers.


The stay will remain in effect while providers seek a full review of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole by the high court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had upheld most of the law earlier this month and then declined to suspend its ruling.

Five justices agreed to issue the emergency stay, one more than would be necessary to take the case on its merits. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito voted to deny the action, the court said.

“We are confident that the justices will make clear once again that the constitutional protections for safe and legal abortions are real,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the case on behalf of the abortion providers and clinics.

During a call with reporters, Northup noted that the latest action is the second time the Supreme Court has intervened on the Texas law, H.B. 2. Last fall, it reinstated a district court’s ruling to block the admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements.

The soonest the justices could decide whether to take the case would be when they come back into session in October, CRR attorney Stephanie Toti said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed confidence Monday afternoon that the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold the law.

“H.B. 2 was a constitutional exercise of Texas’ lawmaking authority that was correctly and unanimously upheld by the 5th Circuit,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas will continue to fight for higher-quality health care standards for women while protecting our most vulnerable — the unborn.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry faulted the justices’ decision to keep the law from fully taking effect this week. “The Supreme Court’s stay unnecessarily puts lives in danger by allowing unsafe facilities to continue to perform abortions,” he said in a statement.

In the state’s latest filing, opposing any delay, Texas Health Commissioner Kirk Cole contended that there still would be abortion clinics open in nearly every area of the state after the law takes effect. “Perhaps recognizing this reality, plaintiffs have shifted to the allegation — unsupported by any competent record evidence — that these remaining abortion facilities will lack the capacity to handle the demand for abortions,” he argued.

The state of Mississippi has also asked the high court to consider a case involving a similar admitting privileges requirement. A panel of the 5th Circuit blocked the Mississippi law, which abortion-rights advocates say would shutter the state’s only remaining clinic.