NYT:
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed nine Texas abortion clinics to remain open while the justices consider whether to hear an appeal from a decision effectively ordering them to close.
The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. voting to deny the stay.
The case concerns two parts of a state law that imposes strict requirements on abortion providers. One requires all abortion clinics in the state to meet the standards for “ambulatory surgical centers,” including regulations concerning buildings, equipment and staffing. The other requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
This isn't the end of the struggle, but it is in the right direction.
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth:
Women's groups asked the Supreme Court to put an emergency hold on the effect of the law while they prepare an appeal to challenge its constitutionality. They say the law, which takes effect July 1, would force all but nine abortion clinics in the state to close.
The Supreme Court order will remain in effect at least until the court decides whether to hear the clinics' appeal of the lower court ruling, not before the fall.
"Overall, there would be a net reduction in abortion facilities of more than 75 percent in a two-year period," they argue in their court filings. And the clinics that remain open would find it hard to expand their services.
Bloomberg:
The Supreme Court has now intervened twice to halt some of the Texas rules. The court ordered the state to stop enforcing some of its restrictions in October, clearing the way for clinics to reopen.
A New Orleans-based federal appeals court then largely upheld the restrictions, saying the state’s interest in patient safety outweighed the inconvenience to those women who would have to travel long distances. Among other factors, the court pointed to the availability of a clinic near El Paso in New Mexico.
Texas had more than 40 licensed clinics before the Republican-controlled legislature passed the law in 2013. The measure has taken effect in stages. Most of the remaining clinics are in the four biggest metropolitan areas -- Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.
Any court watchers want to read the tea leaves for the final decision?
This Slate article about Justice Anthony is not encouraging - perhaps this will be the case that goes too far? The Alliance for Justice has an awesome summary of all the justices' comments on abortion.
An overview of Justice Kennedy:
Abortion
As for abortion, Kennedy has made it clear that he would not overrule Roe v. Wade. Kennedy joined O'Connor's opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case that reaffirmed Roe, but he has also made it clear that Roe is to be read somewhat narrowly. He dissented in the 2000 decision of Stenberg v. Carhart, which struck down laws criminalizing partial-birth abortion and wrote the majority opinion in the 2007 case of Gonzales v. Carhart, which effectively overruled Stenberg by holding that a federal law criminalizing partial birth abortion did not violate the principles of Casey because it did not impose an "undue burden" on the freedom of abortion.