Dive Brief:
- A ruling last week by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals located in New Orleans, Louisiana allowed a 2014 Louisiana state law to go into effect, immediately requiring physicians providing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital located within 30 miles of the abortion clinic.
- While proponents of the law say it protects women by ensuring better safety and access to emergency care, opponents argue that its real intent and impact is to make abortions highly unattainable.
- According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, only one clinic in Louisiana is expected to be able to continue operations, while two have already closed, and one is "hanging on by a thread," the Associated Press reports.
Dive Insight:
The law had initially been blocked by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge. But this appeal overturns that ruling, and follows a previous decision at the Fifth Circuit to support a similar Texas law of June 2015.
Similar laws in Mississippi and in Alabama are currently blocked.
The Texas law, which resulted in the closure of about half the state's abortion clinics, is slated to be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The decision is expected to reverberate around the South with states following the ruling for Texas.
Louisiana's lawsuit had argued that the state does not require physicians to have admitting privileges for any other outpatient procedures.