Abortion action abounds.

• Author: Frazzini, Kevin
• Position: STATESTATS - Brief article

In Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-3 that two requirements of a 2013 Texas law imposed an "undue burden" on a woman's constitutional right to seek an abortion.

The requirements--that physicians performing abortions must have admitting privileges at local hospitals and that abortion facilities must meet the physical and staffing standards for surgery centers--were intended to protect women's health in case of an emergency, according to attorneys making the state's case.

The high court, however, concluded that neither provision offered medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens each imposed on women. "Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access ... and each violates the federal Constitution," the justices wrote.

The decision has implications beyond the Lone Star State: Thirteen other states require clinicians to have admitting privileges at or an alternative admitting agreement with a nearby...