The Guardian: Controversial Texas anti-abortion law blocked by federal judge
Key provision of bill HB2, a requirement for abortion providers to have hospital admit privileges, ruled unconstitutional
A federal judge has blocked part of the extremely restrictive Texas anti-abortion law that attracted national attention after state senator Wendy Davis held an 11-hour filibuster to block it in June.
In what was a partial victory for Planned Parenthood, one of the largest women’s health providers in the US, the judge ruled that a key provision of bill HB2, a requirement for abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, was unconstitutional.
Last month Planned Parenthood brought a lawsuit challenging two of the key provisions in the bill, HB2, after it was passed by special session in the state following Davis’s successful filibuster against it. The bill required physicians performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic. Such privileges are very difficult for abortion providers to obtain, and the effect would have been to shut down abortion providers in the state.
A second clause, to limit abortion-inducing drugs, was also challenged by Planned Parenthood, but allowed by the judge to stand.