Texas bishops: Supreme Court ruling puts women at grave risk

On Monday, June 27, the United States Supreme Court struck down a 2013 Texas law regulating the safety of abortion clinics, saying in a 5-3 decision that it put an undue burden on a women’s right to an abortion.

In a statement responding to the decision, the Texas Catholic Conference, the policy arm of Texas bishops, pointed out that surgical abortion is an invasive procedure that poses numerous and serious medical complications. The state has a legitimate interest in ensuring the maximum level of safety for the women subjected to the procedure and that viable emergency care is available if complications such as hemorrhage, infection, uterine perforation, blood clots, cervical tears or allergic reactions occur.

"It is irresponsible for physicians to perform this procedure without being able to provide follow-up treatment for the associated complications," the bishops' statement said. "The Catholic Church in Texas, in communion with millions of pro-life people across America and the world, will continue our efforts to protect life and human dignity from conception to natural death."

The case had challenged two Texas regulations of abortion clinics: abortionists must have admitting privileges at a local hospital in case of a medical emergency at their clinic, and clinic buildings must meet the standards of ambulatory surgery centers. They must have proper sanitation, staffing and medical experts on hand to deal with medical emergencies.

The law was passed in the wake of the Kermit Gosnell scandal. Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist, was convicted in May 2013 on three counts of first-degree murder for babies born alive who were killed at his clinic, and he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after a woman died from an anesthesia overdose at his clinic.

An almost 300-page grand jury report exposed his clinic’s horrific practices and conditions. Babies born alive had their spinal cords severed. Blood stains spotted the clinic, which also smelled of urine. Medical equipment was broken or used and reused without being cleaned. Dead babies lay in jars. Staff members lacked experience and expertise.

Texas’ regulations, proponents said, were in the interest of women’s safety and were meant to prevent another Gosnell case from happening. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court upheld the Texas law in 2015 and allowed it to go into effect in most of the state. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear it.

Pro-choice opponents have said the laws were not essential for medical safety, and that they were ultimately intended to shut clinics down. Over half the clinics in Texas closed after the law’s passage, the Texas Tribune has reported, although a definitive link between the laws and the closures has yet to be established.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted to overturn the law, while Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. voted to uphold it.

(The South Texas Catholic contributed to this story.)