Reopening of 3 abortion facilities reverses trend

Three Texas abortion facilities, including one in Austin, have reopened or are about to reopen, reversing a trend of clinic closures caused by strict abortion regulations that the Legislature adopted in 2013 but the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last summer.

A Dallas clinic, closed in 2013 because doctors with the North Park Medical Group couldn’t obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital as required by the now-overturned state regulations, has been providing abortions since quietly reopening in late February.

Whole Woman’s Health reopened its Austin clinic with greater fanfare on Friday, using the occasion to celebrate its success in leading the legal challenge against the regulations in House Bill 2, which was passed during the second of two tumultuous special legislative sessions in 2013.

The clinic, now one of three licensed facilities in Austin, reopened in the same Northeast Austin location that Whole Woman’s Health closed in 2014.

“Austin is where Whole Woman’s Health got our start in 2003, and we are grateful that our win in the Supreme Court last year on behalf of all Texans has allowed us to take the lead in reopening Texas clinics,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, chief executive of Whole Woman’s Health.

A second Texas regulation, also struck down by the Supreme Court, would have required all abortions to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers. Whole Woman’s Health closed its Austin clinic after architects estimated that it would have cost $1.5 million to $2 million to renovate the site into a hospital-like setting.