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Not to be nerdy here, but it has to be said: what is going on in federal courts around the country recently is pretty fascinating.
Two weeks ago, it was Governor Chris Christie acknowledging that a Federal Appeals Court ruling in New Jersey “left no ambiguity,” which led Christie to drop his appeal and effectively legalize marriage equality in the Garden State. Now, pro-choice advocates in Texas are celebrating a District Court ruling of their own. Remember State Senator Wendy Davis’ heroic 13-hour filibuster this summer? Well, it looks like her work has started to pay off.
Last week US District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled “the admitting-privileges provision of House Bill 2 does not bear a rational relationship to the legitimate right of the state in preserving and promoting fetal life or a woman’s health and, in any event, places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus and is thus an undue burden to her.”
With the ruling, the court must put two central provisions to the law, House Bill 2, to a stop: a requirement that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and another barring medical abortions.
A 1990s Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, found that states cannot place an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions, which set the bar the court used in this case.
It is critically important that issues like female reproductive rights are understood as issues that affect us all. In fact, men can provide a powerful voice in standing up to the “undue burdens” often placed upon women by male-dominated state legislatures. It is a personal, and deeply difficult decision for a woman to make. Abortions will happen, and they should be safe and legal. The question at hand is whether other states will allow the freedom for abortions to take place under safe circumstances.
On Monday, the Supreme Court decided it will not hear a case out of Oklahoma that seeks to reinstate restrictive abortion measures. Time will tell if Federal Courts in other states will halt more restrictive abortion laws. For now, the next state to watch is Kansas, which has paid nearly $1 million to defend its anti-abortion laws.
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the writer and do not reflect the view of Sweet Lemon Media.
