Federal judge rejects key part of Texas abortion law

See the the details of the study in the following slides.

less A study from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project took a look at how things have changed since Texas passed HB 2, the hotly contested abortion bill, in 2013. See the the details of the study in the following ... more A study from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project took a look at how things have changed since Texas passed HB 2, the hotly contested abortion bill, in 2013. Photo: Billy Smith II, ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: Billy Smith II, ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Federal judge rejects key part of Texas abortion law 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN – A federal judge struck down a key piece of Texas's tough new abortion law Friday, giving opponents at least a temporary victory just three days before implementation of a provision expected to force all but seven clinics in the state to close.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that requiring abortion facilities to comply with the standards of ambulatory surgical centers would reduce access so much that it would put an unconstitutional burden on Texas women seeking the procedure.

"The ambulatory-surgical-center requirement is unconstitutional because it imposes an undue burden on the right of women throughout Texas to seek a previability abortion," Yeakel ruled, blocking enforcement of the requirement scheduled to take effect Monday.

Yeakel also ordered the McAllen and El Paso areas to be exempted from a separate provision of the law requiring abortion doctors to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

He described the law, called House Bill 2, as "a brutally effective system of abortion regulation that reduces access to abortion clinics, thereby creating a statewide burden for substantial numbers of Texas women." Already, a couple dozen clinics have closed since its enactment.

The ruling represents a major victory for a coalition of abortion providers who challenged the law, but it could be a short-lived triumph.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Greg Abbott said the state will appeal the ruling, seeking "immediate relief from the Fifth Circuit" of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The providers will hope to avoid a repeat of last fall, when Yeakel struck down a different part of the law only to have his decision quickly reversed by the Fifth Circuit.

Ultimately, both cases could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman's Health, one of the providers that brought the lawsuit this spring, said the providers "will be anxiously awaiting the appeals court decision. We remain hopeful that we will prevail."

"Requring every abortion clinic to turn into a surgical center is excessive and not based on good medicine," Miller said. "It's an undue burden for women in Texas — and thankfully today the court agreed."

Two Whole Woman's Health clinics were among the at least a dozen abortion facilities planning to close Monday. Both will remain open for now, Miller said.