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NEW ORLEANS—Contested portions of a Texas pro-life law passed in 2013, which has been challenged continually in court by abortion advocates, were upheld June 9 in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision to uphold the law as it was passed will likely mean that 49 licensed abortion clinics in Texas will be reduced to eight, as Texas House Bill No. 2 (HB 2) requires abortion facilities to comply with ambulatory surgical center standards.
In a June 9 press release, non-profit, pro-family organization Texas Values called the standards “steps to protect women who go into abortion facilities from being less likely to jeopardize their own lives.” Texas Values, led by attorney and president Jonathan Saenz, played an instrumental role in the passage of HB 2 two years ago and has worked to defend the measure in court and in the public square since then.
“Today we are thankful that the Fifth Circuit upheld a law that protects both women and children,” Saenz said. “The court¹s decision ensures that abortion clinics must uphold basic health standards—standards that are required of other surgical centers in the state.”
On page 22 of its published opinion, the court noted that although many of the ambulatory surgical center (ASC) standards “seem benign and inexpensive … e.g. … ‘A liquid or foam soap dispenser shall be located at each hand washing facility,’ [the] plaintiffs conceded at oral argument that they made no effort to narrow their challenge to any particular standards of the ASC provision of H.B. 2 or its accompanying regulations. Instead, they ask us to invalidate the entire ASC requirement.”
Those challenging the law maintained during testimony in trial that “abortions can be safely performed in office-based settings, such as doctors’ offices and specialized clinics,” and that “there is no medical basis for requiring facilities in which abortions are performed to meet ASC standards,” according to the court document.
In opposing testimony, the state of Texas said “the sterile environment of an ASC was medically beneficial because surgical abortion involves invasive entry into the uterus, which is sterile.”
The court’s decision to uphold this challenged portion of the law will mean that centers performing abortions must adhere to the same safety standards as other surgical centers in Texas.
The challenged portion of the law upheld in this most recent court decision joins another provision challenged and upheld in court regarding the requirement that doctors performing abortions must have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the location where an abortion is performed.
