Yesterday, the Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay on Texas House Bill 2 (HB 2), Texas’s anti-abortion law, which would have closed most clinics in the state and dramatically changed the way Texas women would able to access reproductive healthcare.
The stay means Texas will temporarily be unable to enforce the disastrous anti-abortion law. This is very good news, but The Supreme Court will likely hear the case next term, which could possibly lead to some extremely bad news.
HB 2 was upheld earlier in June by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This unfortunate result lead plaintiff Whole Woman’s Health, one of the most important abortion providers in Texas, to appeal to the Supreme Court, where they gained a temporary victory.
In a press release issued by Whole Women’s Health, CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller wrote, “Today I breathe a deep sigh of relief as The Supreme Court of the United States protected our three reproductive health clinics in West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley from shutting their doors by partially blocking components of Texas’ omnibus anti-choice law, HB2. This law, which was recently upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court, would have had a catastrophic impact on women and families across the state of Texas. We’re relieved that the high court has, once again, prevented anti-choice politicians’ from pushing safe and affordable abortion care entirely out of reach for the women in these communities.”
Hagstrom Miller also stressed the importance of making it clear to Texas women that abortion is still legal. In order to accomplish this, Whole Woman’s Health has created a new hotline to answer questions about abortion access. According to Hagstrom Miller, “If women have questions about where they can go to end a pregnancy, I would encourage them to call our newly established hotline at 1 (877) 833-9190.”
It is important to remember that SCOTUS could still vote to allow the law to go into affect, which would close the majority of abortion clinics in Texas. However, for now, we can celebrate because SCOTUS keeps killin’ it.
Via Jezebel
Images via bound4life and Twitter
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