Appeals court right to uphold Texas law

Published 10:32 pm Monday, March 31, 2014

A federal appeals court has correctly upheld the reasonable restriction on abortion that the Texas Legislature passed last year. In its ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law doesn’t place an undue burden on women.

The ruling isn’t the end of the matter; opponents of the law say they’ll appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld parts of a Texas abortion law pertaining to hospital privileges for physicians who perform abortions and protocols for abortion-inducing drugs, a decision that drew starkly contrasting reactions on both sides of the debate,” CNN explained last week. “U.S. district court previously struck down those provisions in the Texas law, which were challenged in court by lawyers for Planned Parenthood. But the 5th Circuit Appeals Court later issued a stay of that decision ‘pending appeal,’ meaning it would not go into effect.”

In its ruling on Thursday, the court said “H.B. 2 on its face does not impose an undue burden on the life and health of a woman, and the district court erred in finding to the contrary.”

Of course, opponents of the law claim otherwise.

“The latest restrictions in Texas will force women to have abortions later in pregnancy, if they are able to get to a doctor at all,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said. “This court ruling is not the last word.”

Planned Parenthood and other supporters of abortion-on-demand say the Texas law is “extreme.”

But that’s false. The Texas law is a reasonable measure that moves abortion rules to middle ground. It’s the other side that’s truly extreme.

Why is it unreasonable to require abortion providers be physicians with admitting privileges to nearby hospitals? As the evidence presented in the appeals case demonstrated (without dispute), many women who undergo abortions in the state experience complications. Hundreds are admitted to hospitals every year with problems that are sometimes life-threatening.

Planned Parenthood argued the hospital privileges portion of the law is unreasonable because women with complications always can go to an emergency room.

That’s not what’s best for women’s health. And isn’t that the cause Planned Parenthood claims to be rallying to?

Here’s what the ruling itself said: “During these proceedings, Planned Parenthood conceded that at least 210 women in Texas annually must be hospitalized after seeking an abortion. Witnesses on both sides further testified that some of the women who are hospitalized after an abortion have complications that require an Ob/Gyn specialist’s treatment.”

The law also requires doctors to follow the Food and Drug Administration guidelines for prescribing and administering abortion-causing drugs. How is that unreasonable?

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis already is attempting to cash in on the ruling, portraying it as a threat to women’s health and “reproductive freedom.” And no doubt she will continue to portray the law as a front-line battle in the fictitious “war on women.” It won’t help her cause, though, that the Fifth Circuit panel of judges is composed entirely of women.

Those justices reached the right decision.